Gundam Legacy
by neesah
Summary: //Finished!//Sequel to Endless HAVOC. AC 218. With the Gundam Pilots missing and the Gundams seizing control over the whole ESUN, who will shoulder the burden of winning back peace and changing history once again?
1.

Gundam Legacy Chapter 1   
  
**Disclaimer: **How I wish I own Gundam Wing. That way I don't need to write this stupid disclaimer. [sigh]   
  
This is a sequel to my first fic Endless HAVOC: God vs. Soldier. There are some things here that you might get confused about so I suggest you read **Endless HAVOC** and its epilogue **The way you love me ** first coz being lazy and all, I won't repeat some facts that I already made known in its predecessors. Also, this fic will focus more on the pilots' children than the original pilots themselves. For comments, suggestions, flames or reviews, you can email me at raizenheero@aol.com  
  
  


**Gundam Legacy**   
by Neesah 

  
  


**Chapter 1: And so it begins... again**

  
  
  
**AC 218 **  
  


Duo slowly opened his eyes, his hand reaching out to the back of his head. "That hurts," he muttered.

"Glad you could finally join us in the land of the living, Maxwell," a familiar voice greeted him.

Duo shot up in a sitting position and traced the source of the voice. He saw Wufei leaning by the wall while Quatre, Trowa and Zechs sat on their respective beds.

"So, here's where you all disappeared to," Duo commented, surveying their 'prison'. The room was very big, with 6 beds and a small cubicle. _Must be the bathroom. How thoughtful, _ Duo smirked. It looked more like a big hospital room than a prison cell, with its white walls (maybe 10-15 ft high), a television screen mounted on the wall and the sanitized smell. But the similarity stopped there. The door was made of metal and there were no windows, only two airvents placed far up the wall. Well, he knew from the time he saw his 4 friends that escaping was out of the question since if there were means to escape, Wufei, Zechs, Quatre and Trowa wouldn't had stayed there all this time. His careful inspection of the room just confirmed his suspicions.

"What do they want from us? Where are our families?" Duo asked. The other four didn't get the chance to answer him when suddenly the door to their room opened. A well-built man in his mid-forties, with dirty blond hair and green eyes entered the room. Two soldiers stood on either side of the opened door, watching them.

"I see that you're finally awake," the older man addressed Duo.

Duo eyed him carefully. "Who are you? Why did you bring us here? Where are my wife and kids?"

"Don't worry about your family. They're safe, I assure you. But I couldn't promise that they'll stay safe if you don't cooperate. As for me, I'm General Raidon Langley. It's an honor to meet you, Duo Maxwell." 

Duo crossed his arms on his chest. "And what do you mean by my cooperation, hmm?"

"Tell me where Deathscythe Hell is and I wouldn't harm your family."

Duo cocked an eyebrow. "The Gundam Deathscythe? How in hell would I know where it is? I own a salvage yard and we deal with scrap metal all the time but it's really impossible for me to hide a big MS like that there."

Raidon laughed. "Don't play innocent with me. I know who you are, Pilot 02. I was an OZ soldier during the war. And I was also a trusted aide-de-camp of Damon Luther, though he knew me as Capt. Medina. Unlike the rest of the ESUN, I know the identities of the Gundam pilots."

_ There's no use hiding the truth then, _ Duo decided. "I think you're forgetting something, whatsyourname, ah, **Raidon**. Even if I reveal Deathscythe's location to you, you wouldn't be able to get in without the security card. This is just the kind of situation we've prepared for," Duo said smugly. 

Raidon waas unfazed. Actually he was amused. "Don't worry about the minor details, 02. Just concentrate on doing your part so you can keep your family alive. Let's just say that I already had a ** talk ** with Lady Une before **talking** to you pilots." 

Duo's eyes widened in disbelief. "Lady Une wouldn't betray us! She'll die first before helping thugs like you get your crabby hands on the Gundams!"

"True, she'll rather die than give me the security cards but she wouldn't let her beloved adopted daughter to die, would she?" Raidon chuckled evilly. "Just as I know you wouldn't let your wife and kids die."

Duo glared at him. "Don't worry. As I said before, no harm will come to them as long as you cooperate."

"I want to see if they're really safe. I just don't trust you, I wonder why."

Raidon ignored his tone of voice. "As you wish." He then took out a remote control thing from his pocket and pushed a button. All of a sudden, they heard a humming noise as the wall by the door went up to reveal glass panels. Looking through the glass panels, they noticed the same thing happening in the opposite room. When the wall was completely up, Duo saw Hilde, his 12-yr old son Dylan and 8-yr old daughter Haley in the opposite room. They were with Zechs' wife Noin and 13-yr old son Zeke, Trowas's wife Midii, his sister Catherine, his brother-in-law Ardy Faller and 14-yr old niece Carrie, Quatre's wife Dorothy and 10-yr old daughter Dierdre, Wufei's wife Sally and 12-yr old daughter Mitzi, Lady Une, a 5-month pregnant Marimeia and her husband Troy.

"Hilde!" Duo shouted. Zechs, Wufei, Quatre and Trowa pressed their hands on the glass and gazed at their respective families with longing. 

Hilde and the others saw the guys in the opposite room and started pounding on the glass wall, shouting. But no sound was heard.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you that both rooms were soundproofed so there's no use shouting. They won't hear you," Raidon told Duo, somewhat enjoying the whole spectacle. "Now that you've seen your family, maybe you would be kind enough to tell me what I want. Your friends can assure you that I'll keep my end of the bargain if you keep yours."

Duo looked at the 4 pilots. They looked away in shame. "So you already have the rest of them, huh. But why? Why do you need the Gundams?"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. I thought you already guessed that part. I want to rule the whole ESUN. And the only things that could ruin my plan are the Gundams and their pilots. Let's just say that this early in the game, I'm already eliminating all possible obstacles. Then I realized that the only things that could stop me are also the only things that could bring me victory. Ironic isn't it? Securing the Gundams will assure my victory. I'll be invincible," Raidon stated. "Now that I answered your question, you answer mine. Where's Deathscythe?" 

Duo glanced at the 6th bed then smirked. "Fine. I'll give you the location of my Gundam but don't celebrate yet. You're one Gundam short and there's still one Gundam pilot on the loose. And I assure you, he's not going to be too happy about your little plan."

A scowl formed on Raidon's face. "Heero Yuy is one difficult man to capture. And he's guarding his wife very well. But it doesn't matter. I'm going to save her for last, we are still in need of her services. As for Wing Zero, well, even if we get it, it'll be of no use to us. Nobody can pilot it. My son is the only one here who could control the Zero system and he already has his own Gundam," he said proudly. "Heero Yuy might be the Perfect Soldier and Wing Zero a very formidable suit but against Deathscythe Hell, Tallgeese III, Sandrock, Altron, Heavyarms and Stygma, I don't think he stands a chance."

  
  


************************************************

  
  
** Presidential Palace, Brussels (3 pm) **  
  


A storm is brewing, Relena could feel it in her bones. It all started when Lady Une, Marimeia and her husband went to a sudden vacation a month ago. Followed by the Changs, then the Bartons and Fallers, the Winners and finally the Peacecrafts. Not that it was unusual to take vacations, it was just that they hadn't heard from them ever since. She was pretty sure that they didn't just go on an ordinary vacation, they were kidnapped. And if her hunch was correct, the Maxwells and her family will be the next targets. Though she didn't know what this was all about or why people would want to disrupt the peace they all worked hard to achieve, she vowed that she would do anything in her power to stop them. 

It had been 20 years since the last war with Damon during Operation Domino and peace had reigned ever since. Throughout this span of time, the whole ESUN had undergone demilitarization, making the Preventers the only military organization left. They all started to live in an era where wars existed only in history books and stories, where their children learned how to bike or drive cars and not pilot Mobile Suits, where everybody felt secure about not being fired at or blown up. Relena heaved a big sigh as she leaned back against her chair. And here she thought that after all those meaningless battles of the past, the whole human race had finally learned their lesson, that their desire to fight was finally taken away from them. _ I guess I was wrong. As long as humans live, they'll continue to fight. It's an irrepressible part of human nature. Treize and the others had been right all along, _ she said to herself. 

Her reverie was cut short when the door to her office opened. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw her husband framed by the doorway. She smiled, her earlier dismal thoughts dispelled by the mere sight of him. At 38, he still looked the same as the day she had married him. "Heero."

Heero went beside her and gave her a quick kiss. Without further ado, he said, "Relena, they got the Maxwells too." 

She was not surprised, though she was getting more worried about their friends. Whoever was behind this operation really knew how to get what he wanted without raising suspicions from anyone. Heero had just started having suspicions when Milliardo and his family disappeared a week ago. "Since when?"

"The day before yesterday. But I only confirmed it today. Same thing as the others, they went on a sudden vacation." Heero then held her hands. "You know what this means, Relena." 

Relena nodded. "We're next." 

"That's why we have to go. I already made arrangements ---" 

Relena silenced him by putting a finger on his lips. "I can't go, Heero. I can't just run away and hide when I have a responsibility to the people. Even if my life is in danger. " 

Heero looked directly into her eyes. "You don't understand. Not only is your life in danger, but also the whole ESUN. They got the Gundams, Relena. Even the Tallgeese. I just checked this morning. They're going to attack anytime soon. Being the President of the ESUN, you're going to be their first target. And we all know that the Preventers doesn't have the firepower to fend off a large army, much less 5 powerful Mobile Suits." 

"That's an even bigger reason for me to stay. Being the President, it's not right to leave my people during such a crisis. I have to stick by their side no matter what. They wouldn't appreciate a President who would run away in the first sign of danger. It's like a captain who abandons his ship when it's sinking. It's a very cowardly thing to do." 

"Once they attack, there's no doubt they'll succeed. But if we escape now, even if they manage to take over the ESUN, the whole populace wouldn't abandon all hope and surrender to the insurgent group as long as they know that you're not captured. We could then find ample time to regroup and regain control," Heero told her. 

Relena reached out to touch his cheek. She knew that what Heero just said was the most logical thing to do and that he was sincere in his plan but she also knew that he had some personal reasons why he wanted them to escape. He wanted to personally make sure of Relena's safety and he couldn't do that if she was captured. And she was certain that Heero wouldn't let himself be captured, especially now that he was the only one left who could save them all. "I have to be here at all costs, Heero, come hell or highwater. And I know that you know that I wouldn't have it any other way." 

Heero was about to reply when something caught his eye. He went to the window and saw six flying dots fast approaching the Palace. After a few minutes, Heero confirmed that the six dots were Deathscythe Hell, Heavyarms, Sandrock, Altron, Tallgeese III and a Gundam that looked just like Epyon except for the cross attached to its back. "They're here," he stated, taking a small transmitter from his pocket and pushing a red button. 50 Taurus Suits and 50 Serpent Suits emerged to defend the Palace from the invasion. He turned his head and saw Relena by his side, looking at the fighting Mobile Suits with a sad expression. He put his hands on her shoulders, his eyes locking into hers. "I rounded up those suits before I came here just in case they attacked. I also told Lady Une's OIC to put the Preventers on red-alert. They'll send backup soon. Even if they are no match for the Gundams, they'll continue to fight. There's no other option but to fight. You understand that, don't you, Relena? They'll be able to buy us time to escape. Come, it's time to go." 

Relena gave him a sad smile. "You go, Heero. I'm staying."

Heero saw the determined look in her eyes. "If you're staying, I'm going to stay with you."

"No. You have to go. You're the only one left. You're the only one capable of correcting whatever wrong that will be committed today."

She was right, Heero knew it. But he was torn between his duty to her as her husband and his duty to peace. He knew what he had to do, though it still pains him to leave her all alone and helpless. He wouldn't forgive himself if something ever happens to her. 

Seeing his thoughts clearly in his eyes, Relena put her hands on top of his. "Go. I'll be fine. Do what you have to do, Heero. As you said, there's no other option but to fight." She saw him nod, his eyes silently asking her a question. Relena bit her lip. They had worked so hard in order to avoid this day to come. If she had any choice, she wouldn't agree. But time was running out and she knew that Heero couldn't do it alone. "I understand. I give you my consent. And I think that the others would give you their permission as well. Just take good care of them, ok," Relena said softly. 

"I promise. And I promise that I'll be back for you. Wait for me, Relena," Heero told her. 

"I will. I believe in you," she replied. Heero pulled her close and kissed her one last time before running out of the room. 

Relena watched him go. _Be careful, Heero, _ She then heard a beep of an incoming transmission. She went to her desk and answered the call. 

"Good afternoon, President Relena Peacecraft-Yuy. My name is Raidon Langley and as you can guess by now, I'm the one who gave the orders to the Gundams to attack. Resistance is futile. The Preventers doesn't stand a chance against the Gundams, nobody in the whole ESUN stands a chance against my army. So to avoid wasting more lives, just surrender. Hand over the reigns of power to me and we'll cease to attack. Being a Peacecraft, one who is dedicated to the idea of Total Pacifism, I know that this condition suits you well."

Relena coolly regarded him. "You must be referring to the time I surrendered to the Romefeller Foundation. I would never regret that decision for it was the only path I could take by that time. I dissolved the Sanc Kingdom then because its existence caused a war and whatever the reason, Total Pacifism must not be the cause of any fighting. But this situation is different. I am not the cause of this war, nor is Total Pacifism. Your own selfish desire to dominate is the root of this meaningless battle. That's why I wouldn't be bullied into surrendering and handing over the ESUN to you. Even if it's a losing battle, we'll continue to fight. The alternative is unthinkable." 

Raidon cocked an eyebrow. "I didn't expect to hear those words from you, Relena Peacecraft. You're willing to sacrifice more lives for a futile cause?" 

_ Sacrifice more lives for a futile cause… _ Relena's heart constricted at the thought but her face remained neutral. "I'm a Peacecraft but I'm also a Yuy. And being a Yuy means that I'll continue to follow the path I chose no matter how hard it is. And I'm fairly certain that those soldiers outside battling the Gundams feel the same way. They're fighting to protect peace, there's nothing futile about that. They might lose their lives, **we** might lose our lives but it wouldn't be in vain. So if you want to have the reigns of power over the ESUN, come and take it from me. I wouldn't just hand it over to you."

Raidon smirked. "If you say so. See you at the other side of **my** victory, Miss would-be-former President." And with that, the call was terminated. 

Relena sat down and put her hand on her forehead. _Forgive me, everyone. This is the only decision I could make. _ Her head jerked up when she heard another beep. She clicked a button and the image of Lady Une's OIC, Lt. Col. Stephens appeared on the screen. 

"President Yuy, I'm sending the last batch of soldiers we have to fight the enemy. I'm going with them too." 

Relena looked at him sadly. "We're losing, aren't we? Maybe it's for the best that you won't send the remaining troops here. Just go and save yourselves. You could look for my husband and plan a counterattack or something." 

Lt. Col. Stephens smiled at her. "I already sent the remaining 15 Sanc Kingdom guards to hiding. They'll be able to help Heero if ever he strikes back. Don't worry about us. And don't be sad. We're truly grateful that you didn't give in." Relena gave him a surprised look. "How did I know? Well, it was an open transmission. The whole ESUN saw it. You stood your ground, so it's just right that we do the same. I know that there's no chance of us winning but we're still going to fight. And we wouldn't regret making that decision either." 

"Please forgive me if I put all of you in this position. It's a pleasure knowing you. Please tell this to the other soldiers as well." 

"We're the ones who should be asking for forgiveness. We aren't able to protect you or the ESUN. We are the last line of defense and with our deaths, there's no stopping them from taking control. And with it, the Preventer Organization will cease to exist," he said pensively. "It is our pleasure to know and work for you, President Yuy. We wish you all the best," Lt. Col Stephens saluted. His image then disappeared. 

Relena closed her eyes and silently prayed for the souls of the soldiers who died and who'll be dying. When she opened her eyes, she went back to the window and watched as one by one, the Preventer army was destroyed. The battle went on for 15 more minutes and after seeing the last Preventer MS be destroyed, Relena went to her chair and sat down. Five minutes passed by before she saw the door to her office open. Raidon Langley entered, soldiers trailing behind him. 

"What did I tell you? It's futile to resist. You have the souls of those soldiers on you, Miss Relena. You'll carry the burden of guilt over their deaths for the rest of your life." 

Relena didn't respond. She just continued on staring at him. Raidon laughed. "My, my, I can't believe it. You're still resisting, aren't you? That's very noble. But very stupid." He studied her face. "Oh, I see. You're just waiting for me to make my victory official. Well then." He went to her side and proceeded to make a live transmission.

"Good afternoon to all. I am General Raidon Langley, the leader of the revolutionary group, Dais Rogue. As you have guessed by now, I have succeeded in overthrowing the present government. As a matter of fact, I have in my custody our beloved President. And being the victor, I now proclaim that Relena Peacecraft Yuy is no longer the President of the Earth Sphere Unified Nation. I am." Hearing those words, Relena stood up. Two soldiers went to her side and pointed their guns at her. "As the new President, I'm going to make some changes. But that can wait. You'll be hearing from me again soon. That's all. Thank you," he said, terminating the transmission. 

Raidon then turned his attention to Relena. "Take her away," he ordered. 

"Yes sir," the two soldiers replied. Relena started to walk towards the door, the two soldiers walking on either side of her. Raidon sat on the chair and sighed contentedly. "I finally achieved my dream. And I'll be damned if I ever let anyone take it from me. Even the great Heero Yuy wouldn't get lucky." 


	2. The fruit is not that far off from the t...

Gundam Legacy Chapter 2   
  
**Disclaimer: **It wouldn't be called a fanfic if I own Gundam Wing right? Right.   
  
If you were wondering where the hell are the pilots' children since you didn't get even a glimpse of them in the first chapter (and I told you that this fic will focus on them), well, wonder no more. From here on, all that you're going to read about would be them. I kinda got their names from their parents' names (kinda cheesy e?) and I made them a cross of their parents' most dominat qualities. Hope I made them familiar but not too similar, interesting and unique enough that you could like them. For comments, suggestions, flames or reviews, you can email me at raizenheero@aol.com  
  
  


**Gundam Legacy**   
by Neesah 

  
  


**Chapter 2: The fruit is not that far off from the tree**

  
  
  
** One week earlier (L1 Colony)**  
  


It was a place for learning and anonymity, a place where surnames didn't matter and were non-existent. It was a place where you could just be yourself without the constraints of living in the shadows of how influential, famous or notorious your family was. The RECON Institute of Science and Technology was a haven for the intelligent and for those who wanted their identities not made public. And to 16 yr old Kai Dotre Winner, this was the perfect place for him. Having a well-known family name was bitch sometimes, as he and his friends could attest to. Well, most of them anyways. He was sure that Rhys Illiard Peacecraft and the Yuy twins knew how he felt. Deity Maxwell, Lee Fei Chang and Trion Barton didn't have the same problem with privacy as they had though their families were famous in their own way. The Maxwells were well known in the field of salvage business, the Changs were top Preventer officials, Trowa Barton was a famous circus performer and part-time Preventer agent while his wife, Midii, was a full time agent. But unlike them, his, Rhys, Jiiro and Reina's parents were well known in the world of politics and business. Quatre Raberba Winner was the head of the Colony delegates since AC 202 and also the CEO of the Winner Corporation while Dorothy Catalonia Winner was the Executive Vice President, the Peacecrafts were the Chief Representative of the Sanc Kingdom and were Earth delegates themselves, Relena Peacecraft Yuy was the ESUN President and former Vice Foreign Minister (also former Queen of the World) and Heero Yuy was the President's husband, head of Security and also the CEO of Quark Technologies, the largest computer company in the ESUN. It was a blessing that nobody knew that their fathers were the former Gundam pilots who saved the ESUN thrice before or else they would even be more famous. 

Their parents found it necessary to tell them the whole story about the Gundams, the Eve Wars, the Marimeia incident and Operation Domino. They didn't have to really, for they had read about this stuff in history books. But it was different hearing the real story from its major players, knowing the how's, the why's and the little details that didn't get publicized. It was both fascinating and frightening, and they knew in their hearts that their parents made all those sacrifices so they wouldn't live in such a frightful place. Their parents wanted them to have a normal childhood, not having normal childhoods themselves. They wanted them to lead a better life than they had, to have the best of everything, to be happy. And they went out of their way to give these to them. Knowing their need for escape and anonymity, their parents enrolled them at RECON. He and his friends would forever be grateful to them for that. At RECON, he could simply be Kai and not the heir to the Winner Corporation. It was the same for the others. They could maintain their individuality, not being referred to as the son or daughter of someone famous who would also be famous someday. 

Though both them and their parents knew that this anonymity was only temporary, they weren't bothered. What mattered to them was that they were all content in living their lives right this moment, managing to hide from the spotlight even for a short while. They had the rest of their lives to live up with the burden, responsibilities and expectations that came with their respective names. But now, they were happy just to be your typical, normal teenagers. 

Kai just entered the school cafeteria, which looked more like a food court in a mall, when he spotted a blue-haired girl in a long braid and a girl with shoulder length chocolate brown hair standing in line by the Mexican food stall. 

"Hey, Deity, Reina," he greeted as he joined the two 15-yr olds in their line.

"Kai!" Deity exclaimed, her violet eyes flashing. One would think that they hadn't seen each other for a long time. Or that that they didn't live in the same house. Well, that was expected from someone born from Duo and Hilde. Deity had been a bundle of energy from the day she was born. 

"Hi, Kai," Reina greeted back, pulling a scrunchie from her jean pocket to tie her hair in a ponytail. She then stared at Kai's ash-blue eyes, his mother's eyes, when she remembered something. "I thought you're allergic to Mexican food. Why are you in line?" 

Kai looked at Reina. He could always see his Aunt Relena in her, Reina resembling her in so many ways, except for the hair and intense Prussian blue eyes she inherited from her father. And if Reina looked a lot like Relena, her twin older brother, Jiiro, looked exactly like Heero. Though the twins were a little reserved and quiet around strangers, they were relaxed, warm and caring toward their family and friends. They smiled a lot too. But when pissed-off, they clearly manifest the evidence of them being the offspring of the Perfect Soldier. It was really funny, how they all turned out to be. They were all a cross of their parents' best qualities --- both physical and otherwise. It was a startling phenomenon. 

Kai ran a hand through his blonde hair before replying, "Yup. I'm still allergic. I just went here to say hi." He then scanned the room. "I saw Rhys by the Italian side. See ya," he waved as he made his way through the throng of students buying lunch. 

  
  


Rhys mentally sighed though his face was smiling at the girl who just commented how good he was at the soccer game last night. The 18-yr old stud was crowded by too many girls that he couldn't even manage to get in line to buy his lunch. Not that he minded being surrounded by girls that much, it would just be better to have another guy around. Usually, he was with his bestfriend, Miles, when they were swarmed by girls. But because Miles was absent, he had to endure the endeavor alone. The girls weren't to blame though. Rhys was as every inch as attractive as his father. He got Zechs' icy blue eyes and combined with chin-length blue hair, he was simply irresistible. He heaved a big sigh of relief when he saw Kai heading towards his direction. Kai was as much as a stud as himself (all five of them were though he and Kai were more approachable) and he was sure that some of the girls would drool over him instead. 

Before the two guys could even greet each other, half of the girls exclaimed, "KAI!!!" then rushed to the blonde. Rhys suppressed a laugh as he saw his friend fend off the predatory females. Always the gentleman, Kai told them, "Ok, umm, I'll talk to you girls later. My buddy and I need to eat first." Giving them one last smile, he rushed to Rhys' side and practically dragged him to the counter to order their food. The girls bought their own food as well then followed the two outside the cafeteria. Rhys and Kai hurriedly headed to their 'spot', knowing the fact that the girls would leave them alone once they reached their group's table. 

The two were relieved when they saw Deity, Reina, Jiiro, Trion, Lee Fei, Qintaro and Sean sitting at their table. "Bye Kai! Bye Rhys!" the girls called out in a sing-song voice as they sat down on their table a few feet away. 

"You know, if you really want those girls to stop hounding you, do what Qintaro and Jiiro do to their admirers," Sean suggested as the two took their seats. "Give them a death glare." 

Qintaro gave his cousin a death glare. "See what I mean? If I'm a girl, I would be scared out of my wits," the 15 yr-old redhead said, grinning. 

"I don't think their glares were effective enough," Rhys stated, pointing at another table. A group of girls were staring dreamily at Jiiro and Qintaro. 

"At least they just drool from afar." 

"And what about you, Sean? What do you do to keep our admirers at bay?" 

"Don't worry, Deity. Everyone in this school knew that you and Sean had this 'thing' going. Just like Qintaro and Reina," 14 yr-old Trion silently said. Though his blonde hair covered part of his face, making only one of his green eyes visible (he inherited his father's hairstyle much to Midii's dismay), everybody could see the mischief in them. 

Reina and Deity turned deep red, Sean smirked and Qintaro just glared at Trion, though the corners of his mouth twitched up a bit. 

"I don't have a 'thing' with him!" the two girls exclaimed at the same time. 

"Yeah right," Lee Fei snorted. "Don't you ever wonder why nobody asks the two of you out on a date even if many guys here are attracted to you?" the 14 yr old asked, his brownish-black eyes staring intently at them. 

"It's because we hang out with 11 guys?" Deity guessed.

"And they are all scared of you, especially Niichan?" Reina added. Jiiro gave her an odd look. 

The raven haired boy rolled his eyes. "No, stupid onnas. They think that you two are already taken."

"Uh-oh. Lee is starting to sound like Uncle Wu," Jiiro commented. 

"No I'm not! I don't rant about either Justice or Injustice and I don't think onnas are weak!" Everybody laughed at his outburst. Sean and Qintaro didn't know who they were talking about but the Chinese boy's reaction was so funny that they laughed anyways. 

"Anyone who thinks that women are weak would immediately change his mind once he got to know Deity and Reina," Qintaro stated. 

_You're right. But wait 'til you see our mothers. Those women are really strong, _ Kai thought. "Speaking of 11 guys, why do our ranks slowly decreasing? Where's Miles, Rhys?" 

"I don't know. I didn't see him in any of our classes today," Rhys replied. Then, they all turned to look at Qintaro. Miles, Dean (Trion's bestfriend), Colin (Lee's bestfriend) and Ren (Kai's bestfriend) were all family friends of his. "He's needed home," Qintaro answered simply. 

When they heard Qintaro's words, they didn't pursue the topic any further. Family backgrounds were taboo subjects to them and throughout these years that they were friends with Qintaro and the rest, they hadn't talked about their respective families, except for the slight (and harmless) references they made, like the one about Lee becoming like his father. But it didn't matter. They didn't need to know where the other came from, what one's family was like or what one's surname really was. They genuinely liked what they saw in each other, that was reason enough for them to be good friends. 

But that didn't mean that they weren't curious, especially now that their friends were disappearing one by one. Colin was the first one to be needed back home, next was Dean, then Ren and now Miles. If this trend would continue, Sean and Qintaro would definitely be the next ones to be summoned home. 

The conversation in the table was then changed to the school dance that would be held next week when they heard a voice over the speakers. "Paging Jiiro and Qintaro. Jiiro and Qintaro. Please proceed to the computer lab. Thank you." Surnames were non-existent in the RECON Institute, everyone was addressed by their first names, even the teachers. If there were persons with similar names, the latter one who got there would be called by his second name. And if that still wouldn't do, his nickname would be used or the administrators would give him a nickname. 

The two aforementioned 15 yr olds stood up to throw the remains of their lunch in the trash bin. "Bye guys. See you later," Jiiro called out. Qintaro gave them a small wave as the two headed to the Computer Department. 

Qintaro made a sideways glance at his bestfriend then said, "Jiiro, I'm going to ask Reina to the dance." 

"Are you asking my permission or are you just informing me of what you're planning to do?" 

Qintaro shrugged. "A little of both, I guess." 

"Hn. Reina is old enough to make her own decisions." 

"Thanks. What about you? Who are you taking to the dance?" Qintaro asked. 

"Rhys, Kai and I agreed last night to go stag. If we ask any of the girls here, they might get crazy ideas, giving more meaning to a simple gesture. We don't want to lead anybody on." 

Qintaro couldn't stop a smile from forming on his lips. If someone else had heard Jiiro, they might have mistaken him for being cocky. But that wasn't the case. Jiiro was just stating a fact, like he always did. His bluntness and no-nonsense attitude were what Qintaro liked most about him. It was not everyday you meet a kindred spirit. And if it wasn't for Reina, he would do the same thing. Because in their present predicament (having so many girl admirers, none of which you were interested in) going stag was the most logical thing to do. 

"Sean's going to ask Deity," Qintaro informed him. 

"I thought as much." 

"What about Trion and Lee?" 

"They told me that they'll just stay at home. Dances are not their kind of thing," Jiiro answered, brushing his unruly hair with his fingers. 

"It's not our kind of thing either." 

"Well, you have someone whom you want to take to the dance and I have to go because I know Reina would go, with or without a date," Jiiro replied as he opened the door of the computer lab. 

"Good, you're here," Professor Andre said. "I developed a new system and I want the two of you to test it. See if you'll be able to crack the code." He gestured for the boys to sit down. 

"The work of computer geniuses are never done," Qintaro muttered under his breath. 

Jiiro smiled, knowing very well that what his bestfriend just said wasn't entirely a joke. "Indeed," he agreed before starting to work on his terminal. 

  
  


************************************************

  
  
** 2 days before the attack (12 noon)**  
  


Reina was not feeling well that morning so she opted to just stay at home. She was watching TV and occasionally dozing off by the couch when she heard the doorbell. When she opened the door, she was surprised to see familiar dirty blonde hair in a ponytail and beautiful green eyes.

"Qintaro, why are you here? Didn't you go to school?"

"I did. I sneaked out just as the lunch bell rang to tell you something. Can I come in?"

"Sure." After closing the door, the two stood face to face. They were almost the same height, Qintaro just 3 inches taller, like her brother. "So? What's so important about the thing you're going to tell me that you have to sneak out for it?"

"I can't go to the dance with you."

Reina cocked an eyebrow. It was just like Qintaro to not beat around the bush. "And why may I ask?"

"I just received a call from my father. Sean and I have to go home. I don't know when we'll be back. "

Reina was somewhat relieved. It was better to know that your date canceled on you because of some family emergency than just plain changing his mind. But it still hurt. "Ok. I understand."

"I'm so sorry, Reina. I'll make it up to you somehow. I promise." 

"Let's talk about that when you come back," she answered coolly. They stared at each other for a few heartbeats first before Reina said, "Goodbye, Qintaro." 

"Bye," he replied as he opened the door and went out of the house. Reina sighed upon closing the door. Her earlier illness was replaced by this sudden urge to smash something. She headed upstairs to the combat room. 

  
  


Deity found Reina still doing combat exercises when she came home 2 1/2 hours later. "Want a sparring partner?" 

Reina stopped and turned to regard her bestfriend. "Yeah. I know that you wanted to let off some steam too." 

Deity snorted in response as she went to Reina and they started sparring. 

"Where are the others?" Reina inquired, blocking Deity's attack and returning some of her own. 

"At the kitchen. Eating," Deity answered, dodging. After a few minutes, she asked, "When do you think they'll return?" 

"I don't know. I also have this weird feeling that they might not come back at all." Deity managed to nod at her, telling her that she felt the same. They continued battling.

  
  


The guys went upstairs after eating and found the two girls still engaged in combat. "Remind me not to cancel on them ever," Trion stated. 

"I think we should do something fun ourselves. Let's play the combat simulation program Uncle Heero made for us," Lee suggested. 

"Great idea!" Kai remarked. 

"Yeah. I'm itching for a good fight too," Rhys added. 

"Let's go then," Jiiro said. The five guys left the girls alone and headed to the game room. 

  
  


************************************************

  
  
** At present… **  
  
The seven of them stared with shock and horror at the TV screen. "Good afternoon to all. I am General Raidon Langley, the leader of the revolutionary group, Dais Rogue. As you have guessed by now, I have succeeded in overthrowing the present government. As a matter of fact, I have in my custody our beloved President. And being the victor, I now proclaim that Relena Peacecraft Yuy is no longer the President of the Earth Sphere Unified Nation. I am." They saw Relena stood up from beside Raidon, her face calm and confident. They couldn't see it but following Relena's eyes, they were certain that guns were aimed at her. 

"Kaasan," Reina whispered. Deity squeezed her hand, her violet eyes filled with the same worry as could be detected from Reina's voice. Kai, Rhys, Trion and Lee's faces hardened while Jiiro's face remained blank though his eyes were ablaze. 

"As the new President, I'm going to make some changes. But that can wait. You'll be hearing from me again soon. That's all. Thank you." After Rhys turned off the TV, a tensed silence occupied the room. They were shocked and horrified when they saw the Gundams and the Tallgeese attacking the Presedential Palace. 

"They said they were going on a vacation. They didn't tell me that they're going to overthrow the Congregation," Deity muttered. 

"We're not yet sure if it really was them," Rhys countered.

"But there's a big possibility that it is them. Only our fathers knew where the Gundams were hidden. So it's either they're the ones piloting them or they gave their permission to Raidon to use the Gundams," Kai pointed out.

"You know how our fathers are. It's impossible that they would willingly pilot their Gundams to stage a coup against the Congregation or that they would willingly divulge the location of the Gundams," Lee told them. 

"Maybe they were forced to do it. Raidon might have blackmailed them with something that was impossible for them to refuse," Trion voiced out. 

"But Tousan was not with them. Nor was he with Kaasan when Raidon took over the Palace. Where is he, Niichan?" Reina asked. 

"Knowing Tousan, I'm sure he went to get Wing Zero immediately after Kaasan told him that she's staying. He might be planning a counterattack as we speak," Jiiro answered, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. 

"So, what do we do now?" Deity inquired, her fingers absentmindedly playing with her ring. 

  
  
**At the same time… **  
  


"This is all my fault," Lady Une said in a sad voice as she turned off the monitor in their holding cell.

"No it isn't! It's Raidon's greed for power that caused all of this," Noin told her. 

"Besides, you just did the only thing you could to save those you hold dear. Just like what Quatre and the others did for us," Dorothy added. 

"I'm sorry, Mom. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have gotten in this situation," Marimeia said. 

Lady Une squeezed her hand. "Forget it. Noin's right. This is nobody's fault but Raidon's. Just take it easy, ok? Pray that by the time you go to labor, things are back to normal." Fortunately, that would be 4 months from now. Raidon wouldn't stay in power for that long, would he? Marimeia smiled and leaned against her husband, Toby. Both Toby and Marimeia worked for the Preventers. 

"I don't want to sound like Wufei but that Raidon guy really doesn't have honor. Using us to blackmail the pilots to reveal the location of the Gundams is a weak thing to do. Injustice," Catherine said. Everyone laughed though they believed that Catherine was right. 

Ardy, Cathy's husband, silently studied everyone in the room, realizing the fact that he was the odd one out. He didn't exactly know what was going on. He didn't know anything about his brother-in-law and his friends being the famed yet mysterious Gundam Pilots before. Toby might not know that certain fact either but he was certain that Toby knew much more than him since he was a Preventer agent. It all made perfect sense now. He liked these people and throughout all these years, they had been good friends, almost like family. But he noticed something different about them, as if they were not just your average group of people. Now he knew. And though he and his family were dragged into this mess, he didn't regret being associated with them. In fact, he was proud to call them his friends, his family. 

"I just hope that they'll make Relena stay with us. She'll be safer here," Hilde voiced out. 

"She'll be safer if she escaped with Heero. But being as stubborn and as dedicated as Relena is, she had to stay and be captured by Raidon. I'm sure Raidon is going to use her against Heero just like what he did to us," Midii told them. 

"He might have won the day but the battle is far from over. Heero will make sure of that," Sally said confidently. 

Noin, Sally, Hilde, Dorothy and Midii then looked at each other, knowing too well what Heero would resort to doing to regain the ESUN back from Raidon. It was something that they thought had chances of happening but dreaded just the same. If only they could stop this from happening, if only there were other alternatives left, if only they could trade places with them… but that was not the case. 

"They'll be in good hands. Heero will take good care of them, I'm sure of it," Hilde said. The other 4 nodded their agreement. At least they weren't captured with them and whatever happens the 4 mothers knew that those 7 had more chances of survival than the rest of them being held by Raidon. That was the only consolation they had. 

  
  


Zechs turned off the TV in their room. "That bastard! If he hurts Relena, I swear to God I'm going to kill him!"

"If we get out of here, I'm going to kill that weakling too," Wufei stated. 

"Who do you think were piloting our Gundams?" Quatre asked. 

"Raidon must have trained soldiers for the sole purpose of piloting the Gundams. I admit that they're pretty good," Trowa said. 

"But still not as good as us," Duo remarked. "Well, we still had one chance. It is far from over." 

"Yeah. Heero is still out there. And knowing him and my sister, I'm pretty certain that Heero asked Relena to escape with him and she must have fed him with her 'I-have-to-stay-because-I-have-a-responsibility-to the-people' crap," Zechs commented. 

"But Raidon was right. Even with all of Heero's skills, he couldn't possibly defeat 5 Gundams, the Tallgeese and a whole army single-handedly. Especially that new suit, Stygma," Trowa pointed out. 

"Stygma was patterned after the Epyon and we all know that the Epyon is a match to Wing Zero, if you don't take into account the twin buster rifle. Epyon was designed to be a dueling suit, that's why it only had melee weapons. But adding that cross rifle attached at its back changed that purpose. Stygma is definitely a match to the Wing Zero, point per point," Zechs told them. 

Wufei smirked inspite of everything that was just said. "Maxwell wasn't exactly saying the truth when he said that there's only one Gundam pilot still on the lose. Wing Zero isn't the only Gundam not in Raidon's possession either." 

Quatre sighed. "True. If the circumstances were different, we have nothing to worry about. There are two suits and two exceptional pilots in existence who could right everything that has gone wrong in the ESUN. But that's not the case. So Heero have to resort to that thing we thought might happen but wished that wouldn't." 

"He needs their help. The whole ESUN needs their help. There's no other choice," Duo stated, staring at the ring on his finger. It was the same exact ring his daughter had. 

  
  
Here's the Family tree in case I got u confused:  
  
1. Zechs and Noin -- Rhys (18), Zeke (13)  
2. Quatre and Dorothy -- Kai (16), Deirdre (10)  
3. Heero and Relena -- Jiiro and Reina (15)  
4. Duo and Hilde -- Deity (15), Dylan (12), Haley (8)  
5. Trowa and Midii -- Trion (14)  
6. Wufei and Sally -- Lee Fei (14), Mitzi (12)  
7. Ardy and Catherine -- Carrie (14)  
  
The twins were the direct result of what Heero and Relena did in **The way you love me** (so their birthmonth is September). If u can also remember, Hilde got pregnant first (she was 1-2 months along the way then) so Deity is 1-2 months older than the Yuy twins. I'm not being nasty, I just want to establish the importance (or the connection) of that fic to this. Just so u know :)  
  
A side node about Marimeia: I didn't put her in a wheelchair since it was my belief that she only used the wheelchair because she was still recovering from her bullet wound then. She's perfectly healthy in this fic.  
  
You also might wonder why there are too many repetitions of the same idea at the last part. Well, I'm just trying to show that all of them knew each other very well. They could easily guess what the one did and the other's response to that. 


	3. They who must abandon all innocence--- l...

Gundam Legacy Chapter 3   
  
**Disclaimer: **After all the fanfics I've written, I think it's pretty obvious that I don't own Gundam Wing ^_^   
  
This would be the technical chapter of the whole fic. If it conflicts with reality or any other Gundam technical facts, just try to go along and humor me, please? And it would be pretty long too. For comments, suggestions, flames or reviews, you can email me at raizenheero@aol.com  
  
  


**Gundam Legacy**   
by Neesah 

  
  


**Chapter 3: They who must abandon all innocence --- like their fathers before them**

  
  
  


"So what do we do now?" Deity inquired, her fingers absentmindedly playing with her ring. 

Rhys noticed what Deity was doing so he looked at his hand. He saw the same ring on his finger. He looked at the hands of his cousins, then his other friends. They all had the same ring --- the exact same ring their fathers had. "Hey guys, didn't you notice that we all have similar rings?" 

Everyone glanced at their fingers. They saw a simple gold ring, much like a college ring, with a square black onyx at the middle. "They gave us these rings last Christmas, right?" Kai asked. 

"Right. And if I remember it correctly, they told us that whatever happens, these rings will lead us to the legacy they'll leave behind," Deity told them. 

They looked at one another, realization dawning on them. "So this ring will lead us to where they kept the Gundams," Trion stated. 

"But Raidon already got the Gundams. What's the use of going to the place where they were kept?" Reina inquired. 

"We could find something important there --- like a message or something that could help us defeat the Gundams. Besides, I'm sure it's where Tousan is. He'll tell us what to do," Jiiro answered. 

"Hn. This ring is either a map, a key or both. But how does this thing work?" Lee queried, tinkering with his ring. 

All of them removed their rings and tried to figure out how to activate them. 

"I'm sure that to activate them, we should do something deliberate. Our fathers wouldn't want the rings to activate themselves by accident, especially since they are placed in our fingers --- an accident prone area," Kai pointed out. 

"I agree. And they must have put some security checks in them to ensure that we're the only ones who can activate them," Rhys added. 

"A DNA print," Jiiro voiced out. 

Trion nodded. "It's possible. They told us that it's a legacy thing in the first place. DNA checks are the most secure of all security devices. And we all know that Uncle Heero and Uncle Duo are into those kinds of stuff." 

"Hmm, let's see. What are the common DNA identification security checks? There's the thumbprint scan, the palm scan, voice verification, hair strand verification and the retina scan," Reina enumerated. 

"Let's try them all," Deity suggested. "Ok, thumbprint scan." She placed her thumb on top of the stone. Nothing. "Next, palm scan." She placed the stone in the center of her palm. When nothing happened, she tried a different area in her palm. It was like she was making the stone scan her palm bit-by-bit. Still, nothing happened. 

"Let me try," Lee told her. "What's next? Voice verification?" Deity nodded. Lee placed the stone near his lips then said, "Uh, what will I say?" 

"Anything. Your can say your name," Jiiro suggested. 

"Ok. Lee Fei Chang," he said to the stone. Nothing. "Next, hair strand verification." He took a strand from his head and placed it near the stone. Still nothing. "Last one. Retina scan." He looked up and placed the ring near his eye. Everyone waited with bated breath. "Whoa," Lee commented. 

"What? What is it?" Deity asked. 

Lee put down his hand and blinked. "It scanned my eye." 

"So, it is a retina scan. Cool," Rhys remarked. 

"And?" Reina prompted. 

Lee looked at the ring. "I swear the stone changed color. Then I saw a number. 05." 

"Change color?" Kai said, staring at Lee's ring. It was still black. 

Jiiro tried it for himself. He looked up and placed the ring near his eye. After a while, he looked at his friends. "Yup. It changed color alright. I saw something like a grid. I think it's a map. And there's this number --- 01. But I couldn't clearly see the coordinates. They were too small. And once you remove the ring from your eye, it immediately changes back." 

Kai furrowed his brows. "01. 05. If I'm not mistaken, those are the numbers of our fathers' Gundams. 01 is the Wing Zero while 05 is the Altron." 

"So each ring points to a specific Gundam," Trion deduced. 

"It must be a holographic map if it's that small. We need something to enlarge the image or hold it long enough so we can get the coordinates," Reina voiced out. 

"Something to hold the image long enough…" Deity trailed off as she remembered her Uncle Heero's visit to her Dad when she was 7 years old.

  
  


********************FLASHBACK*********************

  
  


Deity tiptoed to her father's study. Peering in, she saw her Uncle Heero standing with his back turned from the full length mirror. Standing opposite him was her Dad, holding a ring that his bestfriend brought, which was similar to the one he was wearing. The two men's positions weren't unusual really, they always liked talking standing up and her Dad had always liked looking at the mirror. And personally, she believed that her Dad was the only person who had a full length mirror in his study. 

"Nice, Heero. You managed to integrate a holo-map to the key ring. I'm impressed. This way, whatever happens to us, our kids would know where to look for the Gundams in case they were ever needed again." 

"Hn. One should always be prepared. We'll give them the rings when they're old enough. By the way, give me yours so I could make the necessary adjustments to make it similar to my ring. I'll return it after two weeks." 

Duo cocked an eyebrow. "What for? I perfectly know where I hid Deathscythe. I'm the one who put it there years ago, remember? I don't need the holo-map. I wouldn't get lost, if that's what you're thinking." 

Heero gave him a look that meant 'baka'. "There'll only be 2 sets of rings --- the ones we already have and then the ones we'll give our firstborns. Our rings will be passed on to our firstborns' firstborns so I need to reconfigure them now that way when the time comes, all I need to change are the DNA prints." 

Duo shook his head. "You really think of everything, huh, Heero. It's a great idea, but I really hope that they wouldn't have to use it." 

"As do I. It's just a precaution. Peace can only last as long as everyone maintains it. And if ever someone forgets the lesson from the past wars and try to disrupt the peace, the Gundams will be there to remind everyone about it and set everything back in its proper order." 

"Yeah. You're right. Hey, do it again. I want to see it," Duo said, tossing the ring to Heero. 

Heero caught the ring with his right hand. He was about to place it near his eye when he saw a puff of blue hair from the doorway. "Deity, is that you?" 

  
  


********************END FLASHBACK*********************

  
  


"A mirror," Deity whispered. "We need a mirror, guys." 

"What for?" Rhys asked. 

"I remember Dad and Uncle Heero talking about integrating a holo-map with the key ring. When Dad asked Uncle Heero to show it to him again, Uncle Heero's back was turned against a mirror." 

"The mirror might hold the image longer once the retina scan is complete," Trion stated. "It's worth a try." He went to the full length mirror in the living room and stood with his back turned as he faced the opposite wall. He looked up and placed the ring in front of his eye. He felt his eye being scanned and when it was complete, the stone turned red. He then saw a number --- 04. He raised the ring a little above his head making it face the mirror. And to everyone's surprise, they saw a holo-map being projected to the wall Trion was facing. But instead of an X that one usually see on treasure maps, a spot was marked with the number 04. 

"See, I told you we need a mirror," Deity said happily. 

"Hey, that's on Earth!" Rhys told them, pointing at the map. 

"Let's try our rings," Jiiro said. The other 6 took their positions and copied Trion's earlier actions. The holo-map on the wall now showed 7 marked areas--- 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, T and a symbol that looked like two crescent moons, one facing the right, the other left, connected at the middle by a line. The first 6 points were placed in some sort of a hexagon while the connected crescent moons (which looked like an elaborate letter 'H') points at the middle of the hexagon. 

Reina frowned. "I know what your rings are pointing at, but what about mine? What does that symbol stand for?" 

Everybody shrugged. "Well, we could find out. There must be a reason why they gave us the rings. Since the 6 locations are not that far from each other, we could land on the middle where Reina's ring points at then proceed to our respective destinations. We could meet there again afterwards," Kai suggested. 

"Good idea. That particular area has lots of mountains --- a perfect place to hide Mobile Suits. We could bring our motorcycles so we could go to and from the rendezvous point," Rhys amended. 

"Who would have known that the Gundams were stored not that far from each other. Sure, they might be 2-3 hours away from each other but they're not like placed in different continents. Or in the colonies," Reina said. 

"It must be intentional. They must be doing something that requires them to be near each other," Lee pointed out. 

Trion gave a small smile. "And our rings are not only maps but also keys to the storages. We should have guessed that our fathers have their own access to the storage facilities. It's impossible that they let the security cards be the only means to get in." 

"We better get going. It would be dark soon. And we still need to make some preparations for our trip. Kai, can you ask Rashid to send us a shuttle ASAP?" Jiiro asked. Kai nodded then headed to the vidphone. "Trion and I will gather supplies, Reina and Deity will prepare the food, the rest will check the motorcycles. Oh, and someone must talk to the Principal and invent some valid reason so we'll be excused from school for the next couple of days." 

"I'll handle it," Rhys said. "I'm the oldest and the supposed 'legal' guardian of the group. I'll tell them that we have a family emergency. They wouldn't question that." 

Kai turned off the vidphone and turned to them. "The shuttle will be here in an hour." 

"Ok, let's go to work. What do you guys want, by the way --- tuna or chicken?" Deity asked.

  
  


************************************************

  
  


It was already past six when their shuttle landed. The shuttle door opened and the 7 kids went out to survey their surroundings. It was a forest, not a dense one at that but enough to be a good hiding place of something. After a careful inspection of the area, Lee said, "There's nothing here." 

"Reina's ring points to either an underground base that is so secure even we couldn't find access to or it just points to the center of the six locations," Rhys remarked. 

"Like a guide or a landmark," Trion added. 

"Whatever it is, we better go. It will take us at least 2 hours to get to our respective destinations, an hour to search the premises then another 2 hours to get back here," Jiiro told them. 

Kai looked at his watch. "Ok, synchronize watches --- 6:15 pm. We'll meet back here after 5 hours." Everyone nodded after adjusting their watches. 

They went back to the shuttle to grab their backpacks and get their motorcycles. Deity took her backpack and rummaged through her things. "Food. Flares. Commlink. Flashlights. Extra clothes. Batteries. First aid kit. Extra bullets. Oh, there it is," Deity said as she pulled out her gun and tucked it on her waist. 

"It's a good thing our fathers taught us not only combat exercises but also how to use guns behind our mothers' backs," Reina commented, mimicking Deity's gestures. 

"They knew that we'll be needing these skills someday. Their foresight had served as well, as always," Lee said, climbing on his motorcycle. The others did the same. Before Reina climbed behind Deity, she turned to look at her brother. She saw him staring intently at her, Kai, Rhys, Lee and Trion regarding her and Deity solemnly as well. 

"Don't worry. We'll be careful. Promise," Reina told them. 

"Yeah. We'll be fine. We won't do anything stupid," Deity added. 

The 5 guys nodded. They knew that those 2 were more than capable of protecting themselves but they couldn't help worrying. They regarded themselves as one big family, and they protected and cared for each other fiercely. They would be damned before they let anything happen to any one of them, especially their 2 girls. When Jiiro saw that everyone were ready to go, he said, "You all go ahead. I'll secure the shuttle by activating the cloaking system and putting on the camouflage net first before going on my way." 

"Goodluck," Rhys told everyone before putting on his helmet. Five motorcycles then emerged from the shuttle and went their separate ways.

  
  


Deity and Reina stopped at the foot of a mountain. "This is the place. It's got to be here somewhere," Deity remarked as both she and Reina went off the bike. They took out their flashlights and started searching for a way inside. They looked for a hidden slot where the security card could be inserted, an irregularity in the mountain side where a door was supposed to be or a square hole where the key ring would fit. 

"I found the card slot but not the ring slot," Reina announced. 

Deity kept searching. Then she felt something. "Found it." She placed her hand near the ring slot, making sure that the black stone was inserted into the square hole. All of a sudden, they heard a loud noise as the side of the mountain parted, revealing a large warehouse. Upon entering, the big doors suddenly closed, and if it weren't for their flashlights, they would have found themselves in total darkness. They looked for the control panel and finding it by the side of the door, they turned on the lights. It was a big rectangular room, virtually empty, except for a computer terminal placed at the far end. 

Deity pointed to the left. "Dad might have put Deathscythe there." 

Reina nodded, noting a security panel where Deity was pointing at. The two girls walked over there to get a closer look. "They really went to a lot of trouble securing this place. If I'm not mistaken, it has infrared sensors and motion detectors," Reina commented. "They really didn't want the Gundams to fall into the wrong hands." 

"But the Gundams still fell into the wrong hands," Deity bitterly said. 

Reina put a hand on her bestfriend's shoulders. "Come on, we still have to look for something our fathers might have left for us." Deity went to the computer terminal and started hacking into his father's files while Reina looked around. 

After a moment, Deity pouted. "Nothing here. Just a bunch of useless files, games, pictures, porn and blackmail vids." 

"I have this feeling that we're missing something," Reina remarked from the other side, sweeping a glance at the room one more time. Then something caught her eye. She went to the wall near the computer terminal, examining the bust mounted on the wall. "Hey, this bust looks a lot like Deathscythe, isn't it?"

  
  


"Where's Wing Zero and Tousan? They should be here," Jiiro wondered as he worked on the computer terminal. It wouldn't come as a surprise if the others found the storage facilities empty since they already knew that Raidon had the Gundams. But Wing Zero? A small smile suddenly appeared on his lips as he found something interesting among his father's files. It was an encoded file addressed to him and Reina! And the good part was, it was dated just a few hours earlier today. He immediately began cracking code after code. _Tousan surely knew how to give me a hard time, _ he said to himself, knowing that his father intentionally made the codes harder to crack to test his hacking skills. When he cracked the last code, he read the message.

  
  


> I'll be waiting for the seven of you at the other side. Use Wing Zero and the ring so you can get there.  
Tousan  


  
  


Then all of a sudden, the file was deleted.

Jiiro frowned. Use Wing Zero? He didn't even know where Wing Zero was, much less how to use it. He then remembered seeing a bust of Wing Zero by the wall at the side of the computer terminal. He went to the bust and studied it. He noted that both of its eyes were hollow. He looked at his ring then placed it near the left eye. Nothing happened. He then placed it near the right eye. He saw the stone changed color. He inserted the ring inside, afterwhich, he heard an electronic voice saying, "Please state your full name." 

"Jiiro Adin Yuy." 

After stating his name, the wall in front of him parted, revealing a large elevator.

  
  


"This is one big elevator. You can fit a Gundam in there. Or maybe a large truck," Rhys commented. He went inside. The door automatically closed then he felt himself descending. After a few minutes, it stopped. When the door opened, he saw a large tunnel.

  
  


Lee surveyed the tunnel. It wasn't brightly lit but it wasn't that dark either. There was just enough light to see what was ahead of him. "A Gundam can walk upright here. Hmm, maybe they use this to transport the Gundams somewhere without the risk of being seen." But the tunnel seemed endless. It might take him a long time to reach the end. He looked up and saw a hand-glider apparatus attached to the ceiling. 

  
  


Trion smiled when he found the glider. "So, that's what they use to travel through this tunnel. Looks like fun." He then noticed metal hinges at the wall that could be used as a ladder to reach for the glider. But he had no need for those things. He was an acrobat, just like his father. He stepped back then lunged into the air. He grabbed the glider and pushed himself. The glider started to slide. And just a few seconds later, he found himself gliding fast through the tunnel. 

  
  


Kai wondered where the tunnel would lead him. He had been hanging from that glider for along time now --- maybe an hour and a half, but he still hadn't stopped moving. His arms were beginning to tire out. "It was like traveling back to the rendezvous point." He then saw a light ahead of him. "Finally, I reached the end." He readied himself and when he neared the tunnel's opening, he jumped off, landing gracefully with one knee bent. "I would have to thank Jiiro and Trion for teaching me how to land safely and properly from a great height." 

He stood up and saw a vast chamber. At the center of the room was a big glass tube that reached to the top and to the bottom, both ends he couldn't see. "With the size of that thing, I say two MS standing side by side could fit in there. Or a space shuttle." 

He then heard a rumbling noise coming from one of the other five tunnels connected to the chamber. Deity, on her motorcycle, came barging in, Reina dismounting from the glider behind her. Then he saw Rhys, Lee, Trion and finally Jiiro came out of the other tunnels, also dismounting from the hand gliders. 

"Umm, surprise?" Deity said. 

"Yeah. Fancy meeting you all here," Reina added. 

"Deity, you used your motorcycle?" Lee asked. 

"Well, yeah. When we got out of the huge elevator, we saw only one glider in the tunnel so we went back up and got my motorcycle." 

"I sure hope I thought of that," Rhys commented. 

"Why? Didn't you enjoy the glider?" Trion asked. "It was really fun." 

"I enjoyed it at first. But hanging 50 ft above the ground and moving very fast for more than an hour and a half took a toll on my arms," Rhys replied. 

"I know what you mean. My arms are really sore from hanging for a long time. Our fathers really have a weird notion of fun. Or exercise for that matter," Kai amended. 

"I have this distinct feeling that we're under the area where we landed earlier," Jiiro commented. 

"Yeah. I think so too. The time we traveled through the tunnels, not to mention the direction we traveled to would surely lead us back where we started," Lee added. 

"But if that's the case then this sucks," Deity remarked. "We wasted time traveling to and fro." 

"I know. If only we found access here from the top then we could have used this glass tube and I'm sure that by this time, we're already at the bottom," Trion said. 

"Did you find anything?" Rhys asked. Kai, Deity, Lee and Trion shook their heads. 

"Wing Zero wasn't there," Jiiro told them. 

"Huh?" was the collective response. 

"But I found a note from Tousan. He said, 'I'll be waiting for the 7 of you at the other side'," Jiiro quickly amended. 

"So he must be down there--- a shared underground base of our fathers. That's what my ring is pointing at," Reina said, stepping closer to the large glass tube. She circled the tube, looking for a control panel when she saw a square hole on the glass surface. She inserted her ring, afterwhich they saw a platform from the top of the tube descending. It stopped in front of them and the door opened. The 7 kids trooped in. The door automatically closed then the platform started descending once more. After ten minutes, they felt the platform stopped. When the door opened, they found themselves in another vast room --- some sort of a laboratory. They went out and were greeted by a familiar voice. "You're right on time. I've been waiting for you." 

They all turned to where the voice came from. "Tousan!" Reina yelled, running towards Heero, her brother following her in a slower pace. 

Heero's face softened as he hugged his daughter. Reina had always been the affectionate one in the family. Releasing Reina, he turned to look at his son. They regarded each other silently, and with his one hand, Heero reached out to tousle his son's already unruly hair, much like his hair. Rhys, Kai, Deity, Trion and Lee watched the Yuy family reunion with wistful eyes. They wished that their parents were also there with them. 

Jiiro was the first one to speak. "They got Kaasan," he told his father. 

Heero's face hardened again. "I know. She wanted to stay and I couldn't persuade her otherwise. But I promised that I'll be back for her." He turned to the other kids. "We'll get them all back," he promised. The five kids nodded and smiled at him. They very well knew that Heero never broke his promises. "But I'll be needing your help." 

Before they could respond, they heard a beep from the main computer terminal. Heero went to it and pressed a button. The face of Raidon Langley appeared on the screen. 

"Good evening, citizens of the ESUN. I know that it's already late but I promised that you'll be hearing from me soon, right? So here I am. I don't want you all to think that I don't honor my word." And the scary part was, he actually thought that he was being honorable. 

Heero narrowed his eyes while the kids snorted. "Honor? You know nothing of honor," Lee muttered. 

"To continue, I'm sad to announce that the whole Preventers organization is no more. I've confirmed reports that all agents were killed during the last battle." Ironically, he didn't sound that sad. Actually, he sounded more pleased than sad. "But don't despair. From now on, Dais Rogue would replace the Preventers in protecting the whole ESUN, occupying the main base here on Earth and in MO-II. That covers the first part of the changes I'm implementing as the new President. The next part is that I'm demolishing the Congregation." He stopped for a dramatic effect, letting the information sink in everyone's brains. "From this day onwards, I now have complete control over the ESUN. I now possess absolute power --- deciding on everything, having a say on anything. My decision would always be the final decision. But aside from that, life would go on as before. Though I have to warn everyone that I don't tolerate any insurgence or treachery. So those who are planning to overthrow me, well, just forget about it ok? This warning extends especially to you, Heero Yuy. Don't try anything stupid, and if ever I felt even a small aggression on your part, I'm going to kill your wife. She's here with me and I'm a little trigger happy. If you're planning to rescue her by attacking the Palace, I'm going to send the go signal to my secret base to blow up one colony after the other until you stop your attack or until your dead. That works both ways. If you try to locate my secret base first, which is very impossible I assure you, and attack it, I'm going to kill your wife without a second thought. So you see, there's no use retaliating. I'm the only one with a vast military power in the whole ESUN, I even have the 4 Gundams and the Tallgeese on my side. Nobody could possibly defeat me," he told everyone with grim conviction. "That's all. Goodnight." The transmission was then terminated. 

  
  


Lady Une looked down when she heard the news. "A-all of them dead?" she said in a broken voice. "Please forgive me, everyone," she prayed to the dead souls of the Preventer agents under her. 

Midii, Sally, Marimeia and Toby were also crestfallen. And though Noin was just a part-time agent, she still felt grief-stricken. They lost all of their comrades in a single day! 

Marimeia held her mother's hand. "Remember, it's not your fault. They fought bravely because they knew it was the right thing to do." 

Lady Une squeezed her hand. "I know. Death is always a possible consequence of fighting. But it saddens me still." 

Hilde sat down, shivering. "Oh God, our kids will be fighting them soon." Dylan, Haley, Carrie, Dierdre, Zeke and Mitzi exchanged worried looks. Their respective siblings and their other friends would face death real soon--- theirs or the deaths they would be inflicting on their enemies. 

"Just thinking that they would fight that vast army and the Gundams too makes me wonder if they would ever survive," Dorothy silently said. 

"They have to survive! They have to win! The alternative is unthinkable," Catherine remarked. 

"I've seen those kids. They are their fathers' children. They will win," Ardy voiced out. 

"Yeah. Believe in your children," Toby told them. 

The five mothers looked at each other. "We do," they said in unison. "Just like we believe in their fathers," Noin added. 

"So, the future of the whole ESUN rests on a handful of kids one again," Sally commented. 

A sad smile appeared on Midii's lips. "And that's what makes it so reassuring. Only those who have pure souls can accomplish something that difficult and impossible." 

  
  


Trowa reached up to turn off the monitor then returned to his bed. They were all stunned silent when they heard that no Preventer agent survived the last battle. Wufei was the only full time agent there but the other 4 were part-time agents, and losing all of their comrades weighed heavily in their hearts. 

After a few moments, Trowa said, "He's thinking that Heero will fight him by himself. With that small mistake, Heero is in the advantage." 

"And if it's any consolation, he didn't reveal to everyone that Heero is a Gundam Pilot. The people would just think that Heero might retaliate because he's the husband of the President and her Head of Security," Zechs said. "I do hope that they already are with him. That they figured out how the rings work." 

Duo laid on his back, both of his arms cradling his head. "Those kids are smart. I'm sure they figured it out by now. And that they're already in the base with Heero." 

"I'm glad that we thought of giving them the rings last Christmas or else there wouldn't be any means for them to get to the base," Quatre voiced out. 

"The rings are really ingenuous. Each ring points to the location of a specific Gundam storage, also providing access to it. It also provides access to the underground base," Wufei stated. 

"And Heero made everything so secure, none of us can even go inside each other's storage areas even if our rings are virtually the same, much less access the elevator once inside. The only persons recognized by the security computer in Deathscythe's storage facility are Deity and I. The same goes with the rest of you, right? But the security computer in the underground base recognizes all of us so we have complete access to it." 

"I think Heero didn't input Reina's data on Wing Zero's storage," Zechs told them. 

"Wing Zero would be Jiiro's Gundam. Reina has her own," Trowa replied. 

Quatre then looked at them worriedly. "Do you think they stand a chance? I mean, even with them helping Heero, they're still outnumbered." 

"They are our children. They will win. They're going to become Gundam pilots and Gundam pilots had always faced and overcome impossible odds," Wufei answered confidently. "Besides, Heero wouldn't send them to battle if they still weren't ready." 

Quatre sighed. "I know. I can't stop feeling worried though. They're still very young…" 

"They're the same age as us when we fought," Trowa told him. "Heero and I even fought at a younger age." 

"True. But they lived all their lives in peace, unlike us who grew up in a time of war. And we were trained to fight." 

"I understand what you're getting at, Quatre. We are all fathers here. But worrying about them won't do them or us any good. We just have to believe in the abilities of our children," Zechs said. 

Wufei nodded his assent. "Zechs is right. They might have grown in a secure, peaceful world but we taught them some skills that will aid their survival. And we instilled in them the importance of justice, peace and responsibility since they were little. They'll do fine." 

"I believe in our children. And I also had accepted the fact that they had to fight. But it bothers me to think that they'll become like us. We've always shouldered the burden of fighting so nobody else had to suffer. If we fight, we're the only ones who will be tainted, who will be miserable, we are the only ones who will have to die. But after all of this, my angel will become the Angel of Death. And I'm the one who led her to become that. Because I am a Gundam pilot, and even if I don't want to, Deathscythe, fighting and protecting peace would still be my legacy to her," Duo said grimly. 

Everyone remained silent. They knew how true Duo's words were --- they were all feeling the same thing. After this, even if their children survive the battle, they would never be the same again. Their innocence would forever be stripped away from them. And the thought that their children would end up doing the same sacrifice as they did, as well as they were the ones who brought this upon their own children gnawed at their hearts.

  
  


When the transmission was over, Rhys asked, "How can we help, Uncle Heero?" 

As a response, Heero pushed a button on the computer terminal. They heard a humming noise as the wall at the far side of the room went up. The seven kids were shocked when they saw what was inside. Five Mobile Suits stood majestically, all of which were exact replicas of Deathscythe Hell, Heavyarms, Sandrock, Altron and the Tallgeese. The colors were a tad lighter though. 

Kai voiced out the question in everyone's minds. "Do you mean that the Gundams Raidon got were fakes and these were the real ones?" 

"No. Raidon have the original Suits. These are the Experimental Suits we've patterned after them," Heero said. "What I need for all of you to do is to pilot these Suits." 

"Umm, Uncle Heero, we don't know how to pilot Mobile Suits, much less if we could fight our own fathers," Lee told him. 

"Don't worry. You wouldn't be fighting your fathers. They were not the ones who piloted the Gundams that attacked the Palace." 

"How did you know?" Deity asked. 

"Since I've known your fathers all my life, I should be able to recognize their fighting style by now. I've seen the way the Gundams fought and moved during the last battle and I'm certain that it's not them. Those pilots might have been good but it was evident that it was their first time to pilot a Gundam," Heero explained. Suddenly, he asked, "Did you use the simulation game I gave you a year ago?" 

"All the time," Trion answered. 

"Then you'll have no problem piloting these Suits. I designed that simulation game and the other ones we let you play since you were little to teach you how to pilot Mobile Suits, in preparation for the day that you'll need to fight." He then looked at Jiiro. "I need you to pilot Wing Zero for me." 

Jiiro nodded. "What about me, Tousan? I want to help too," Reina said. 

Heero didn't reply. Instead, he motioned for them to follow him. He led them to the opposite end. "Open it, Reina," Heero told her daughter when they reached the wall. 

Reina saw a bust mounted on the wall, just like the one of Deathscythe she and Deity saw earlier. But she couldn't recognize what kind of MS it was --- it looked a lot like Wing Zero but she was sure that it wasn't. Well, she didn't care what Gundam it was as long as it would reveal something that would make her help the others. She inserted her ring inside the bust's right eye. An electronic voice then said, "Please state your full name." 

"Reina Keiko Yuy." 

Upon stating her name, the wall went up, revealing a Gundam that looked exactly like Wing Zero except that it was black and it had 10 planetary defensors. _So that's where they patterned the bust, _ she thought. 

"You'll pilot that Gundam, Reina," Heero told her. 

"Is that another Experimental Suit?" Reina asked. 

"No. It's an old Suit. It's called the HAVOC." 

HAVOC? They'd read about that Gundam from history books and they'd heard stories about it from their parents. But unlike the other Gundams, there were no pictures of the HAVOC --- having only a few people who actually saw it. 

"But I thought that it self detonated 20 years ago during Operation Domino and that the only person who had the plans and the ability to build it died in that explosion too," Kai said. 

"Professor Arbus attached the HAVOC's design plans and everything about the interface matrix in his last transmission to the scientists. But even with his step-by-step instructions, it still took the 5 scientists 8 years to perfect the interface matrix. And when they died we continued with the construction." 

"If what I read was correct, the HAVOC requires more strength to pilot than the other Gundams," Jiiro said. "Maybe I should be the one to pilot it. It might be too much for Reina…" 

"No! I'll pilot the HAVOC. I can handle it," Reina assured them. 

"Don't worry about Reina, Jiiro. She can handle it. I wouldn't ask her if I know that she's not the right candidate for the job. She's more suited to pilot HAVOC as you are more suited to pilot Wing Zero. Besides, the original pilot of the HAVOC was a girl." 

"But---" Jiiro started to say when a voice cut him off. 

"Your father is right, Jiiro. I wouldn't have chosen Reina to be my successor if I know that she couldn't handle it." They all jerked their heads to the direction of the voice. They saw a pretty lady, about Heero's age, with shoulder-length auburn hair and gray-green eyes standing outside the glass tube. And inside the glass tube were their shuttle and a motorcycle. The lady smiled at them. "I thought that it would be better if I take the shuttle with me. It would be safer that way." She went to terminal and punched some keys. The platform descended again, taking the shuttle and the bike with it. 

Rhys' eyes were wide. "H-how did you see the shuttle? We covered it with the camouflage net and its cloaking device was activated. How did you bypass the security systems? Jiiro made it himself!" 

As an answer, Heero went to Athena, motioning the kids to do the same. "She's Athena Arbus Mazaki, the pilot of the Gundam HAVOC," Heero introduced. 

Realization dawned on them. She was the girl that their fathers referred to as the Goddess of War, and the Perfect Pretender. Her skills were as legendary as Heero's. "So that's how," Lee said. They all studied her. At first look, nobody would think that she was a trained soldier - with her pretty face, slight frame and easy smile. But there was something about her that reminded them of someone else--- a guy, or someone just as strong. Their gazes settled on Heero. Then it clicked. Heero. Her aura, her stance even the intense expression on her eyes --- she was just like Heero! 

Athena punched some keys again and they saw the platform rise up from below the tube, stopping by their floor. But its earlier contents were gone. "To be honest, it took me a longer time than usual to crack the code. Your son makes one hell of a security program," Athena told Heero. She then addressed the kids. "I kept your shuttle with my bike below. It's our underground garage." 

"Now I know why you look so familiar. Kaasan has a picture of you. She said that you're one of her bestfriends," Reina said. Then she remembered something. "But you're supposed to be dead!" 

"Yeah. You self-detonated the HAVOC, blowing up the whole colony where Damon's base was. Nobody even as skillful as you could possibly escaped that! It's simply impossible," Trion remarked. 

"Everything you said is true. By that time, I already accepted the fact that I'm going to die. What I didn't know was that Grandpa made changes in HAVOC's internals. Instead of making the self-detonation device blow up from the cockpit, then spread throughout the whole body, he put several detonation devices in every part of the HAVOC, excluding the cockpit. And even if he made sure that the blast would wipe out a whole colony, he made the cockpit safe from it. The blast then served as a catapult for the cockpit to be thrown off as far away as possible at the last second. But being synchronized with the HAVOC, I still felt like exploding to pieces during that last second. So my cockpit drifted off with me inside, unconscious, for God knows how long. It was a good thing that the scientists found the attachments in Grandpa's last transmission, even detailing the change in HAVOC's designs so they started searching for me. When they found me, I was, again, in a coma. They took me in and cared for me then after 6 months, I woke up. Luckily, this time I didn't suffer from memory loss though I still have to undergo extensive physical therapy. After a year, I regained all of my physical faculties and skills. It was then that we started rebuilding the HAVOC. Grandpa taught me most of the things regarding the HAVOC's construction and having been the only person who could pilot it efficiently, I'm a crucial help to the scientists," Athena explained. 

"But why would you want to rebuild the HAVOC? I thought everyone recognizes it as a mistake, a monster that shouldn't be unleashed to the world?" Jiiro asked. 

"Well, the scientists thought that there might come a time that the Gundams would be needed again, and the HAVOC, having proven itself already to be valuable ally, would be a great help if that happens. What makes the HAVOC a monster is that it consumes the pilot's mind and body --- exerting too much physical and mental strain that is above any normal person could endure. But they saw that the HAVOC could be tamed by making the Zero system be activated manually. With this in mind, and the fact that as long as its pilot knows what he's fighting for, it is safe to rebuild the HAVOC. Besides, the HAVOC is an exquisite piece of machinery, the scientists couldn't resist rebuilding it," Athena answered. 

"During that time, none of us was aware that Athena was alive or that the scientists were rebuilding the HAVOC," Heero told them. "Even this underground base wasn't built yet. But the separate storage facilities were. In AC 203, Dr. J contacted me and asked my help regarding the HAVOC. My computer company was starting to get recognized and they needed my skills, not to mention my resources and connections, to finish constructing the HAVOC. Because of the rapid demilitarization, it was harder for them to get the necessary materials without being questioned. So I contacted the other pilots and we all agreed to help them. Of course, we discovered that Athena was alive by then. But she asked us not to tell anybody about it, even Relena. And though I know that Relena will get mad at me once she finds out the truth, I still agreed to her request. We all did." 

"Don't worry. I'll just tell her that I asked you to do it. She knew you and me well enough to believe that," Athena assured him. She then continued. "Also during that time, we came up with the idea of having our own anonymous, technical school. It was a perfect cover for our little 'reconstruction' operation, a great source of funding and also a perfect opportunity for us to share our technical knowledge and expertise to the younger generation. So we built RECON." 

Seven eyes widened with the revelation. "WHAT?! You own RECON?!" Kai exclaimed. 

"Well, yeah. Your fathers, the 5 scientists, and I were the founders, the Board of the Directors and the stockholders there. Who else do you think would come up with the idea of an anonymous school than those people who are hiding their identities? But don't worry. We can't influence any of the student's grades nor do we want to. We don't even look at them. Your fathers just provide the funding and the necessary technology that the school might need while I'm the one assigned to make sure that everything in the school goes smoothly. Like the Directress or the Head Mistress. That's why I was late in coming here. We had our monthly staff meeting. I arranged everything first before I go, knowing that I won't be back soon. But everything else we leave to the Principal and the teachers." 

"So you're the Directress. No student in RECON had ever laid eyes on you," Reina commented. 

"It's part of being anonymous. But the teachers knew me, obviously." 

"With RECON built, we continued the reconstruction of HAVOC. The scientists then died one by one. When the last one of them died in AC 209, we decided to build this underground base. We transferred everything here and continued working on what the scientists left unfinished. The next year, I started integrating a holo-map to the key ring in preparation for the day that we'll give them to you," Heero said. 

Athena continued with the story. "In AC 211, the HAVOC was finished. Of course, I couldn't wait to test it myself. After a few runs, we discovered that though the HAVOC was fully operational, I couldn't pilot it anymore. My body had been pushed to its limit by surviving two self-detonations that it couldn't possibly handle the physical stress and burden of piloting the HAVOC any longer. So I started to look for someone who'll be my successor. It was then that I chose Reina. Even at 8 yrs old, she was showing great potential. But I needed to ask permission from her father first." 

"The other pilots and I have always accepted the possibility of you replacing us as Gundam Pilots one day. We are the only ones who know where the Gundams are hidden, it only follows that we'll leave the location to you and grant you access to the storage facilities. That way, if ever the Gundams were needed again and we're gone, you know where to get them. But we also know that in order for all of you to fully realize the Gundams' capabilities, you'll need special training. That's why we started training you bit by bit since you were little through those combat exercises, mind exercises and game simulations. We prefer that you wouldn't need to use these skills, but training you for something you might not need is better than being caught unprepared. Besides, your training is good for your physical and mental well being," Heero told them. 

"When Athena asked my permission to make Reina succeed her as HAVOC's pilot, I wasn't surprised. I also saw what Athena saw in her and knowing the fact that finding a suitable pilot for the HAVOC is just as hard as finding a suitable pilot for Wing Zero, I agreed. By then, all of you were showing signs of advancement so we started personalizing each of your training, making it suit what MS you'll be piloting. In Jiiro's case, I started to expose him to the Zero System little by little through the game simulation I made for him while I subjected Reina to the combat simulations and mind exercises Athena designed for her. And when we thought that all of you were ready, we gave you the rings." 

The seven kids were stunned with everything they learned that day. They felt like their brains were in danger of information overload. 

Deity then remembered something. "Hey, you said that those 5 MS are Experimental Suits. What do you mean by that? What's the difference between them and the original ones?" 

"The difference lies on the way they are piloted. After we finished reconstructing HAVOC, we came up with the idea of using the HAVOC's interface matrix to create another MS system. You see, the interface matrix is advantageous in the sense that the pilot wouldn't need to rely on monitors or grip control handles. He only had to rely on himself, like any other soldier in battle. But there's one setback --- the interface matrix takes a huge toll on the pilot, both physically and mentally, having been synchronized to the Gundam body and mind. The pilot must be strong physically, his body taking the burden of moving the the Gundam as if they were one body and also enduring the pain of being hit. He must be able to think and do two or more things at the same time too. So we tried to develop a system that has the advantages of the interface matrix minus most of the dangers. And the Brainwave Control System is the result of that experiment. The Neo-Deathscythe, Neo-Heavyarms, Neo-Sandrock, Neo-Altron and the Neo-Tallgeese all have the BCS integrated in them," Athena said. 

"How does this BCS actually work?" Lee asked. 

"It works just like a virtual reality game, much like the one I made for you," Heero replied. "The pilot enters the cockpit from behind, standing up. He then puts on the interface helmet, thereby connecting the pilot's brain to the Gundam. Once activated, the pilot would feel like he was the one standing there, battling. If he sees an enemy, he can jump, kick or dodge, the BCS converting the pilot's 'virtual' actions into 'real' actions that the Gundam mimics. If the pilot needs his weapons, he doesn't need to remember where they are kept in the Gundam's body nor does he need to clear his mind and think 'fire vulcans'. There are virtual representations of each weapon that the pilot could see, all he needs to do is to pick up the weapon and the BCS would interpret the action, making the Gundam reach for it or fire it. And when the Gundam is hit, the pilot wouldn't feel the actual pain of it because he's not physically synchronized with the Suit. But he'll feel the impact just like any other pilot in any other MS. With the BCS, we managed to eliminate the mental burden of controlling the Gundam through one's mind while battling and the physical stress the Gundam exerts on the pilot." 

"But because the brain is doing all the work, it still exerts some mental stress on the pilot. Though it's minimal, tolerable and not that dangerous. After piloting the BCS-integrated Gundams for prolonged periods, the pilot will need plenty of food and rest. It's like studying the whole day and night for three 2-hr long exams the next day," Athena added. She saw the kids cringed with the idea of studying for an exam. She smiled at them. "With sufficient rest, food and mind exercises, there'll be no problem." 

"You refer to those 5 Experimental Suits as 'Gundams'. Is Neo-Tallgeese a Gundam too?" Rhys inquired. 

"No. We suggested to your father to make Neo-Tallgeese from gundamium alloy but he refused. Zechs wanted it to be made out of Titanium alloy, like its predecessors," Heero answered. "We just got used to referring to them collectively as Gundams." 

"When can we start our training?" Trion queried. 

"We'll start training tomorrow. We know that you had a long day so you must get some rest. There are two rooms here with bunk beds. Both have their own bathrooms. Reina, Deity and I will sleep in that room," Athena pointed, "while you guys sleep on the next room." 

"But first you must get your motorcycles and take them to the underground garage," Heero said. 

"Why do you have an underground garage?" Jiiro asked. 

"We couldn't possibly leave our bikes up there, could we? And we don't land shuttles here. Even if we secure them and this place is far from civilization, it's still too risky. We land at the nearest town then use our motorcycles to come here," Athena told them. 

"Oh, so that's why you took our shuttle down," Kai remarked. 

"Sorry if we compromised the location of the base," Deity said. 

"No problem. You didn't know. Besides, I doubt that just anybody could find access here. We're just being cautious," Athena assured them. 

"Come on guys, let's get our motorcycles. I'm starving," Jiiro told them while walking towards the glass tube. 

"Yeah, me too. You'll love what Deity and I prepared for you," Reina said, following her brother, the others trailing behind her. 

"This had been a long day. I can't wait to eat," Rhys stated. 

"Then let's hurry up. My stomach is growling," Trion told them, inserting his ring in the square hole. 

"Well, Reina and I wouldn't need to go very far. I just left my motorcycle at the second level," Deity said as they entered the glass tube. 

"We should have thought of bringing the motorcycles with us in the tunnels," Lee grumbled before the platform rose up the tube. 

Heero's faced hardened while Athena's eyes regained its cold, determined expression as they watched the rising platform. They knew that they had no choice, that they were doing the right thing. But in the back of their minds, they dreaded for tomorrow to come. For tomorrow, they would start stripping away those kids' innocence. And in order for this mission to be successful, they had to turn those kids into the ultimate fighting machines. Those kids' very own survival and the fate of the whole ESUN depended on it. 

Heero looked at his wedding ring, conjuring up the face of his wife. Athena looked at him and though he had his soldier's mask on, she knew what he was thinking. "After this is over, tell Relena that I'm sorry too." 

Heero stared at the wedding ring on his left hand, then at the key ring on his right. "We should also be saying sorry to those kids because of what we're going to do to them." 

Athena nodded. They knew what they had to do, but, hell, it still was hard. And it was even harder for Heero. Because three days after tomorrow, Jiiro and Reina would become what she and Heero were. Perfect Soldiers.


	4. New soldiers with unmarked graves

Gundam Legacy Chapter 4   
  
**Disclaimer: **If I own Gundam Wing then I wouldn't spend time writing fanfics --- I'll make them all animated!   
  
And the kids' training begins. Can they handle it? And more importantly, will they be able to master their Suits on time? For comments, suggestions, flames or reviews, you can email me at raizenheero@aol.com  
  
  


**Gundam Legacy**   
by Neesah 

  
  


**Chapter 4: New soldiers with unmarked graves**

  
  
  


They woke up early the next morning. After eating breakfast, Heero started briefing the kids. "Even with the threat of blowing up the colonies and killing Relena, Raidon knows that there's still a 50/50 chance of me retaliating against him. But I'm certain that he thinks it's impossible for me to attack anytime soon, not having the necessary firepower that could stand against his army and the Gundams. This we will use to our advantage," he stated. "The attack will commence 3 days from now. That way, the element of surprise is with us, plus the fact that he still has a lose grip on the ESUN. That gives you 3 days to train and master your respective Suits. We'll tell you the details of the plan a day before the attack." 

"Heero and I will alternately train you. I'll be in charge of the combat simulation while he'll monitor your performance inside the Suits. But Jiiro and Reina's training will be different, having to pilot different Suits from yours," Athena told them. "Questions?" 

The seven kids shook their heads. "Ok then. Reina, Rhys, Kai, Deity, Trion and Lee, come with me. Jiiro, go with your father. Let's get started."

  
  


Athena watched the 6 kids doing the combat simulation with calculating eyes. She was aware of the fact that those kids already knew how to fight, but she still needed to see how they would handle themselves in different combat scenarios. Combat skills were a crucial factor in piloting the HAVOC and the BCS-integrated Suits, and for them to accomplish their goal (not to mention survive) they had to be the best. She took note of every strength and weakness of each new pilot, giving them tips and strengthening them even more. She made them fight with computer-generated enemies, then with each other. When everyone finished battling everyone else in the group, Athena said, "That's enough for now. Time for lunch." 

  
  


It was easy for Jiiro to master Wing Zero's internals. Though he played the BCS simulation game with his friends often, he also had been playing the Zero Assault simulation game his father made for him since he was 8. His early and prolonged exposure to it, even in a much lower strength, readied his mind a bit, but it still didn't stop the Zero System to always overpower him at the end. 

He was breathing in rapid succession, his chest pounding, when the simulation ended. The eerie glow in his eyes receded when Heero deactivated the system. "I failed again. I'm sorry." 

Heero silently regarded him. "On the contrary, you did well. With the time you spent inside, you should have been unconscious by now. And with each simulation, it's taking the system a longer time to get to you. A few more practices and you'll be able to master it." He looked at the other side of the room and saw Athena and the others preparing lunch. "Come. Let's eat lunch."

  
  


They resumed training after lunch. Rhys, Kai, Deity, Trion and Lee went with Heero and Jiiro to try out their Suits while Athena had Reina synchronize with the HAVOC. It was their first time to be inside a real Mobile Suit, having been accustomed to just using simulations. It was a fascinating yet challenging experience for all of them, not to mention scary as well. 

  
  


Reina tried to clear her mind as she moved one arm, then the other. Athena was shouting different commands at her all at the same time, she had troubles executing them correctly. Athena saw her predicament so she ordered, "Reina, desynchronize now." 

When Reina emerged from HAVOC, Athena asked, "What's the matter?" 

Reina looked down. "I can't seem to clear my head. And I can't do all those things all at once." She then looked up. "How did you do it?" 

Athena smiled at her. "I was trained since I was six to do it, Reina. It was as normal to me as breathing." 

"But I've been training for this too, though I didn't know it by that time. It should be easier for me by now." 

"Simulations and the real thing are different, you know that. We just let you do the simulations to get you ready, to condition your mind and body. Your real training started today." 

"Rhys and the others aren't having any problems though," Reina pointed out. 

"Because the BCS and the simulation were identical," Athena replied. "And I'm sure that your brother is also having some difficulties. If you and Jiiro were piloting those BCS-integrated Suits, you won't have any problems too. But you were assigned to pilot the HAVOC and Wing Zero, both of which are very demanding Suits. You know for a fact that not just any person can pilot them. Both Heero and I were consciously trained for the sole purpose of mastering them. You and Jiiro, on the other hand, weren't. So don't be too hard on yourself. You'll get the hang of it soon." Athena stopped for a moment, letting Reina absorb her words. "Ready to try again?" 

Reina nodded then started climbing up HAVOC. She was about to enter HAVOC from behind when Athena said, "The secret is to think that you're not inside a Gundam, that you're actually the one fighting, like when you're doing combat practice. Then think that you're carrying HAVOC's weapons in your body, and reach for them when you need to." She stopped, not wanting to say her next words but she knew she had to. "Focus your mind on the mission, on **accomplishing** your mission. Forget everything else. Remember that there's no room for mistake. That will help clear your head. The mastery of the commands will come later once you learned how to clear your mind at will." 

Reina gave her a small smile. "Thanks," she told Athena before slipping inside HAVOC. When Athena saw the HAVOC's eyes glowed green, they resumed training. 

  
  


At 8 pm, the kids were so exhausted they immediately fell asleep right after dinner. That left the two adults to do a little research on their own. 

Heero and Athena worked silently, Heero on the main computer terminal, Athena on the console nearby. After a few minutes, Athena remarked, "Those kids are good. They really are their father's children." 

"Hn. The training we made them undergo bit by bit while they were growing up paid off." 

"How's Jiiro doing?" 

"He mastered the Suit but not the system. Zero still gets to him. I expected as much. This was the first time he experienced Zero's full power, the simulation I made for him only had 1/8 of its power. Besides, true mastery of the Zero system only comes from repeated use. No one can possibly master it by a single shot," Heero answered. "How about Reina?" 

"She's strong. Her reflexes and stamina are almost as good as mine at that age. But we still have to work on controlling the HAVOC --- thinking and doing things simultaneously. Also, defeating an army singlehandedly." 

"The rest of them are also doing well. They must have been playing the game I made for them often," Heero said with slight amusement. "But being 'good' is not enough. They must be more than good to defeat all of their enemies. Even if they are outnumbered 1 to 100." 

Athena studied the data in her console. "I'll let them do an all-out war exercise tomorrow before I go. We have to stock up or else we'll have 7 hungry pilots running amok in the base. I'll take your 4x4 to town." 

Heero continued working on his terminal. "You found them." 

Athena snorted. It was really impossible to hide anything from him. She turned off the console then went beside him. "Yeah. They're in Beauport City 30 miles from here. I'll do my shopping then talk to them." She looked at Heero's monitor. "You got in? I thought they destroyed the main surveillance system in the Presidential Palace." 

"They did. But I managed to retrieve the last shots in every security camera from the back-up system," Heero replied, typing some commands. Several screenshots were then displayed on the screen, all showing 6 different teenagers on the act of blasting the cameras to oblivion. "I'm certain that those kids are the ones who piloted the Gundams." 

Athena narrowed her eyes as she carefully studied the images. She punched some keys, doing some cross-reference. _I have a bad feeling about this._ When the 6 kids' data appeared on the screen, her suspicions were confirmed. "So they are our enemies," she stated flatly. 

Heero looked at her and saw a mixture of worry and sadness flashed on her face before it turned blank again. "It's good to know who one's enemies are," he told her. 

"I know. But I'm not sure if this knowledge will do us any good in this case."

  
  


Relena watched the retreating back of the soldier who brought her dinner. She didn't know why she felt at ease with that boy. _It's because he's nice, _ she told herself. Well, it was true. He had treated her with respect since her incarceration there, not like a prisoner or a hostage, but a guest. A guest who was not allowed to go out, but still a guest. And she knew that he was not just an ordinary soldier. He had a different kind of aura from those other soldiers, one that somehow was familiar to her. Aside from that, she heard the other guards referred to him as 'sir' so he must be one of the superiors there. If that was the case why did he bother to always deliver her meals? And why was it that whenever their gazes would meet, his eyes would lose their cold expression for a fraction of a second before reverting back? _ Maybe I remind him of someone, _ she thought. But she couldn't help feeling sorry for him. He was too young to be a soldier. If she was right, he was the same age as her kids. He was supposed to be in school, not here overthrowing a government and delivering food to a prisoner. And though he always remained silent, his face blank, she could feel that he was hurting. Having known Heero for more than 20 years would make her an expert in analyzing stoic people. _How did Raidon make that kid into a soldier? _ she wondered. _ What could Raidon possibly have promise him to make him agree to fight? What could he possibly gain from all of this?_ Knowing that she didn't have the answers to all of her questions at the moment, she let it rest. She would try to talk to him, and until then all that she could do was wait. She went to the table and started eating her dinner. 

  
  
**The following night… **  
  


Though tired, Kai couldn't fall asleep. They just finished their second day of training and everything seemed to be going well. _Just one more day… _ he thought. But just one more day of what, he wasn't sure. Just one more day and they would get the ESUN back from Raidon, be reunited with their families and live happily every after? Or just one more day and they would all be dead? As profound as dying might sound, that wasn't the thing that was bothering him though. _Just one more day and I would make my first kill… _ He knew that they had no choice, and that they were doing the right thing but the idea of killing another human being, even if he was the enemy gnawed at him. _Now we'll know how our fathers felt. Or still feeling. _ Their fathers hadn't participated in another war since that one during Operation Domino, but they knew that up until now, their fathers were still suffering from their battle scars, something that they would continue to experience for as long as they lived. And whatever the result of the coming battle would be, Kai was certain that they too would carry their own battle scars all their lives. But he didn't regret making this decision. _They need us. The whole ESUN is depending on us. We won't fail them,_ he said with conviction. He and the others vowed to bring back peace to the ESUN, no matter what the cost. 

_At least we have a pretty decent chance of winning, _ he consolingly told himself. They were just training for two days but they already gained mastery of their Suits. _It must be in the genes, _ he grinned. Well, nobody could deny that fact. They were their fathers' children. Aside from that, having played the BCS simulation game often was another factor. And having the two best soldiers in the whole ESUN training them helped as well. Even Jiiro and Reina mastered the Wing Zero and the HAVOC in no time. _But at what cost? _ They all knew that to be able to master those 2 Gundams, their pilots should have a one-track mind, focusing on their missions and their missions only. There was no room for any other thing that could prove to be a distraction nor was there any room for failure. And as the twins gained mastery of their Suits, Kai and the rest noticed some changes in them. They no longer smile, and their eyes, those Prussian blue orbs they inherited from their father became even more intense, glinting with grim determination to fight and to win back peace. It was like looking at the mirror images of Heero and Athena. Though they expected something like that would happen, it still scared them. But as he said earlier, they didn't have any choice. All of them must get stronger and more focused to successfully pull this off. If victory and survival meant that they got to discard their gentleness and harden themselves even more, then so be it. 

Kai yawned as sleep finally crept up to him. "Just one more day, " he muttered before closing his eyes and falling to sleep. 

  
  


It was already 11 pm when Athena returned to the base. Heero went to the glass tube and helped her carry the groceries from the 4x4 to the kitchen. "Did you talk to them?' Heero asked. 

"Hn. They had troubles trusting me at first. But things quickly changed when I showed them your message. They were more than willing to help us with the attack. Apparently, they had been looking for you, Lt. Col Stephens having ordered them to escape and help you when you retaliate against Raidon," Athena replied. 

"Good. They still have their MS?" 

"All 15 of them." 

"That'll do." 

Silence. After they finished putting everything in their proper place, the two poured themselves some coffee and headed toward the main computer terminal. "Have you told them about the pilots?" Athena asked. 

"No. I'll tell them everything about the attack tomorrow. I don't want them to get distracted." Heero punched some keys and an image of a resource satellite was then displayed. "I found Raidon's base." 

"So we are right. His base is in outer space after all," Athena remarked. "We could go ahead with the plan then," she added, smiling with satisfaction. 

"Yes. His threat of attacking the colonies gave him away, narrowing our search parameters to outer space. What the kids told us this morning just confirmed it."

  
  


********************FLASHBACK*********************

  
  


"I'll be leaving after lunch so we better start," Athena told them. Rhys, Kai, Reina, Deity, Trion and Lee were about to follow Athena to the opposite end of the room when Heero asked, "Did any of you get the chance to talk to your parents before they disappeared?" 

The 5 kids looked at each other. "I think we all did," Rhys answered. "They called us before going on their vacations." 

"Yeah. They got these free passes to Buena Park," Deity added. Buena Park was a famous resort and theme park located in a former resource satellite in Lagrange Point 3. "The passes were for an unlimited number of family members but you have to use them one week upon receiving them. You can stay there for as long as you want though. All of us wanted to go with them too but we were busy with school then. Projects, midterms and stuff." 

Heero's forehead creased for a second then his face became expressionless again. "Hn," he acknowledged before motioning for Jiiro to follow him towards Wing Zero.

  
  


********************END FLASHBACK*********************

  
  


"Relena and I also received those free passes. It was nothing unusual, considering that Relena always receives offers, free stuff and invitations. So I didn't put too much thought to it until now. I then remembered that Lady Une was the first one to receive those passes and also the first one to disappear." 

"A clever move. Raidon sent those passes to each family one after the other knowing that no one in his right mind could resist a free vacation. Once he gets hold of them, no one would suspect since they told everyone that they're going on a vacation. Then he could use the families to blackmail everyone in getting what he wants," Athena remarked. Smirking, she said, "This is just the kind of thing Damon would come up with. Raidon had really taken after him. I'm sure that he also copied Damon's main array. Aside from Damon, Capt. Brooks and myself, Raidon or Capt. Medina as he was known by then also knew the blueprints of the main array." She then shook her head. "I must say he's not being original." 

"Original or not, he managed to execute his plan perfectly. He got the Gundams, their pilots and families, Lady Une, Relena and the whole ESUN in his grasp. He also eliminated the whole Preventers organization in just one attack. To top that, he managed to elude detection, having Buena Park as a cover for his operations. That's the main reason why we hadn't detected any unusual activity in the last 20 years, which we should have since Raidon built his army and base during that time. He used the construction of Buena Park as an excuse in ordering large quantities of neo-titanium alloy and some gundamium alloy," Heero said. "He really had one well thought out plan." 

Athena studied the blueprint of Raidon's base that Heero hacked into. "A well thought out plan indeed. He also made sure that when we find his base, we couldn't just blow it up. Aside from there are many people vacationing there, the main array is attached to the main power core of the resource satellite. One wrong move and we'll kill a lot of innocent people." Athena's face hardened. "If Grandpa only knew that Raidon would cause this much trouble, he wouldn't have let him escape." 

"Hn. But we don't need to blow up the base nor the main array. All we got to do is stop it from firing at the colonies," Heero told her. 

Athena nodded, understanding what Heero meant. She continued looking at the monitor, memorizing the blueprint. More specifically, the path towards where the main array was located. "Ninmu Ryoukai."

  
  



	5. Countdown to battle

Gundam Legacy Chapter 5   
  
**Disclaimer: **Gundam Wing isn't mine. As for the rest that you haven't heard about in Gundam Wing, now those are mine.   
  
An insight to the new soldiers' minds. Are they ready to face their enemy? For comments, suggestions, flames or reviews, you can email me at raizenheero@aol.com  
  
  


**Gundam Legacy**   
by Neesah 

  
  


**Chapter 5: Countdown to battle**

  
  
  
**The day before the attack…**  


After lunch, Heero and Athena gathered the kids in front of the main computer terminal. "Raidon's forces consist of Deathscythe Hell, Heavyarms, Sandrock, Altron, Tallgeese, a new Gundam based on the Epyon named Stygma and an army of 2500 Serpent Suits. They are placed mainly on four locations: the Presidential Palace in Brussels, the main Preventer Base in the Sanc Kingdom, his base in Buena Park and the Preventer's main space outpost in MO-II," Heero stated. "To prevent Raidon from making good his threat, we have to attack those 4 locations simultaneously. We'll separate into two teams: The Earth team will consist of Rhys, Kai, Jiiro, Deity, Trion, Lee and myself while Athena and Reina will head out to space." 

"Wouldn't it be better if we make the members in each team even in number? I mean, I don't doubt Athena and Reina's abilities but it would be safer if they were not the only ones heading out to space. Kai and I could go with them," Trion voiced out. 

"Raidon's forces are more concentrated on Earth than in space. The HAVOC might be outnumbered but it only had to fight Serpent Suits unlike the rest of you who, aside from facing the Gundams and the Tallgeese, will also have to fight the rest of Raidon's army. The Presidential Palace is surrounded by a 2-checkpoint perimeter, consisting of more or less, 600 Serpent Suits. While you breach the checkpoints and fight the Gundams, I'll sneak inside the Palace to get Relena and stop Raidon. Jiiro, you'll face the Stygma with Wing Zero. The rest of you will face your respective MS counterparts. The 15 Sanc Kingdom guards that escaped the last battle will attack the Preventer base to prevent them from sending back-up troops to the Palace." 

"But how can 15 Serpent Suits defeat a whole base of enemies?" Lee inquired. "It's just like Athena and Reina heading out to battle all by themselves." 

"We already took care of that," Athena answered. "You must not worry about other things. Focus on your designated tasks. Reina and I are more than capable of completing our missions." She punched some keys on the terminal, afterwhich a map showing Buena Park and MO-II appeared on the monitor. "Since Raidon used Buena Park as his base, blowing it up is not an option. As long as there are other means of preventing the main array from firing at the colonies, we wouldn't consider taking innocent lives. That's why I'm going to infiltrate his base and disengage the main array from within. His main array is a copy of Damon's main array, and I have sufficient knowledge of its internals to render it useless. Reina, on the other hand, will attack MO-II, preventing it from sending back-up to the base or to the Palace." 

"We were worried about you and Reina fighting alone but Reina attacking MO-II by herself? It's even more dangerous!" Rhys said. 

"I can handle it," Reina simply stated. 

Deity looked at her bestfriend. "We know you can. We just don't want to risk it. Maybe I could come with you." 

"You can't. As Heero said earlier, you will have your hands full with the Gundams and the rest of Damon's army. They need you there, Deity. Even more so than Reina," Athena told her. "Besides, the HAVOC was especially designed to battle and defeat a whole army singlehandedly. Reina wouldn't have any problems. And we wouldn't be alone. Your fathers will be there, together with your respective families. They will help us." She looked at each new pilot, her gaze hard. "I said it before, I'll say it again. There's no room for distractions. Focus on your missions. Your survival and the success of this operation depend on it." 

The seven kids nodded. "Timing is critical. If we attack the Palace and Athena hasn't finished disengaging the main array, then the colonies will be destroyed. Or if the infiltration teams were caught, Raidon will be notified and he'll kill Relena on the spot. We must synchronize our attacks and follow the plan accurately. One mistake will prove fatal," Heero told them. "Athena and Reina will head out to space early tomorrow. Athena will infiltrate the base 40 minutes before the attack on the Palace. That will give her ample time to rescue Duo and the rest then disengage the main array. The Sanc Kingdom guards will also start their tasks earlier. I already synchronized their time with mine. It's your turn. On my mark, synchronize watches --- 1:10pm." When everyone finished adjusting their watches, Heero asked, "Questions?" 

"Do you have any data on the Gundam pilots we'll be facing?" Jiiro inquired. 

Heero and Athena looked at each other. "Hn," Athena replied, pressing a button. 

The 7 kids were shocked. Even Jiiro and Reina, who hadn't been showing any form of reactions lately were surprised. "Qintaro…" Reina whispered as they stared at the images of Qintaro, Sean, Miles, Colin, Dean and Ren displayed on the screen. 

Kai couldn't believe his eyes. "Ren… The others… They ---" 

"They are your enemies," Heero finished for him. 

  
  


************************************************

  
  


He knew he was late. Well, just two minutes late but it was still enough for another soldier to be given the task of taking her dinner to her. He walked briskly towards her room, ignoring the other guards who saluted him along the Palace corridors, his mind focused on catching the other soldier carrying her food so he could be the one to take it to her. He shook his head at the thought. He might as well admit it. He wanted to see her. And he used his influence as the second-in-command there so he could always see her, by being the one responsible in delivering her meals. It took him 3 days to admit and accept this fact. And now that he did, he wanted to know why. He was sure that he didn't have any crush on her, she was old enough to be his mother. _Maybe that was the reason, _ he thought. _I couldn't remember my own mother but when I'm with her, I feel… nice. At peace even. And she looks so much like… _ His thoughts were cut short when he saw the soldier carrying her dinner just a few feet away from her room. 

"Morris, I'll take that," he commanded when he caught up to the soldier. 

"Yes sir," the soldier responded, giving him the tray. "Umm, sir, she asked for you during lunch." 

"Hn," he acknowledged then headed towards her room. The guards standing outside saluted him before opening the door. He took a deep breath then entered.

  
  


Relena heard the door opened but she remained sitting with her back turned, silently looking at the picture in her locket. She smiled as she remembered that day when their family picture was taken. She was leaning against Heero, his right arm wrapped around her shoulder, Jiiro and Reina standing in front of them. Heero's left hand was resting on Jiiro's shoulders while Relena's right hand was on Reina's shoulders. She and Reina were smiling brightly at the camera, Jiiro had a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips and though Heero wasn't exactly smiling, his eyes conveyed his happiness and contentment. Her reverie was interrupted when she heard a familiar voice. "Here's your dinner." 

Relena whirled around and smiled at him. "Qintaro. You're back. I asked about you when you still weren't the one who delivered my meal during lunch." 

"So I've heard," he answered flatly, though the knowledge that she asked for him made him feel warm all over. 

Relena smiled. She knew that even if he wasn't showing it, he was flattered. She now regarded him as a son and she wanted to know everything about him. She wanted to help him. "You've been gone the whole day. Where have you been?" 

Qintaro gave her his most fearsome glare. She had a lot of nerve to ask that question! Didn't she know that she was a prisoner there? Their prisoner? She wasn't supposed to ask about things regarding their operation. But Relena just smiled back at him, not in the least intimidated. _It's like she's used to having someone giving her a death glare,_ he mused. He knew that he could just ignore her and not answer her question, but there was something about her that could make even the most stubborn talk. And before he could stop himself, he answered, "I went to our base to check on things." After that, he silently cursed himself for being weak. He was a trained soldier for chrissakes. He even was trained at a young age to master the Zero System. But why could this slip of a woman easily overpower him? How could she make him do things he didn't want to do without the use of any force aside from that warm smile of hers? 

"Is that so?" Relena remarked. She then looked at him straight in the eye. _There it is again, _ she thought. The coldness in his piercing green eyes flickered away when their gazes met, though only for a second. "Why are you doing this, Qintaro?" 

Qintaro's face hardened. "That's none of your business," he said iciliy. 

"I know you're hurting. I know that you know what you're doing is wrong, that what Raidon was ordering you to do is wrong. And that you hate doing them as much as I do. But why are you still here? Why are you still following his orders? What can you possibly gain from all of this?" 

_Just turn around and walk away, _ Qintaro's mind chanted. But he wanted her to understand. She was the closest thing he had of a mother and even if she was a prisoner there, he didn't want her to think low of him. Besides, he didn't know how, but he was certain she would understand. "My father," he answered without any emotion. 

Realization dawned on Relena. _Why didn't I see it before? He looks exactly like Raidon! Except his hair is longer and is in a ponytail. _ "So that's why you dare not disobey him. He is your father." 

"Being a soldier is the only thing that could make him be proud of me," he said again in the same emotionless tone. 

"You trained to become a soldier to please him? Is that it?" Relena asked. 

"It's the only way to make him accept me as his son. To make him love me as his son." 

Relena's heart went out to him. "Oh, Qintaro. Raidon and I might not be exactly friends but I know for a fact that he loves you. There's no father in existence who doesn't love his kid. You don't need to be like this to win his affection." 

"Apparently, you don't know my father. He never paid attention to me while I was growing up. His routine was to wake up, get a nanny for me and my cousin, leave, then return after a month or two from God knows where. The only time he acknowledged my presence was when I told him that I want to be a soldier, just like him. I was seven then. Immediately after, he took me and Sean to his newly constructed base and started training us, together with 4 other kids he picked up from the streets. And from then on, he started focusing on me. All the hard work, the training, my earlier resentment of him --- they were all forgotten when I saw the pride and respect on his face when I mastered the Zero System, when I became the best soldier in his army. So you see, I need to be like this to win his affection," Qintaro stated without feeling. He turned around and started walking away. To stop him from leaving, Relena suddenly asked, "Why are you nice to me, Qintaro?" 

Qintaro froze on his tracks. "Not that I don't like you being nice to me. In fact, I'm grateful. I just want to know why," Relena added. 

Without looking back, Qintaro answered, "You remind me of someone." 

Relena smiled. "Your girlfriend?" 

Qintaro whirled around to face her. Relena didn't miss the slight blush on his cheeks. "No. Umm, not yet, anyways. I'm still working on it," he answered, a little sheepishly. It was a far cry from his usual emotionless tone. "She's a close friend. The twin sister of my bestfriend. I was supposed to take her to the dance next week but I have to cancel because of, you know, the attack." 

Relena was amazed by the change in Qintaro's behavior. It was the first time Relena heard him speak this way. It was like he wasn't a soldier but just an ordinary teenager, talking about his life, his friends. _He must care for that girl deeply, _ she surmised. She then saw Qintaro's face softened as he looked at her. "She looks a lot like you," he told her quietly. 

"Really? Then she might also look like my daughter. They say that we look alike, except for the hair and the eyes that she inherited from her father. Even my son had the same hair and eyes. In fact, he inherited nothing from me. Heero's genes are a lot more potent than mine," Relena said, grinning. She looked at her locket again. "I have a picture of them. Want to see?" 

Qintaro nodded then walked towards her. Relena slipped off her necklace and handed it to him. Qintaro's eyes widened with shock when he saw the picture. "Jiiro? Reina?" he said increduously. _How did this happen? How come this didn't occur to me before?_ he asked himself. He couldn't help feeling like a big stupid ass. The twins were practically carbon copies of their parents. Especially in Jiiro's case --- he looked exactly like his father! Well, that mistake was a little understandable. Heero Yuy managed to avoid a lot of media exposure, which was an unbelievable feat considering how famous he was --- the husband of the President, her Head of Security and the owner of the largest computer company in the ESUN. That was the reason why there were only a few people who could remember his exact features, the majority just knew him by name. Still, Qintaro had a few glimpses of him from the TV and newspapers and his file was in their database as one of the Gundam pilots so he must be able to recognize the similarity in Heero and Jiiro's features. But Reina and Relena? He lifted his eyes and looked at Relena. Everyone in the ESUN knew what Relena looked like! And he spent all his time memorizing every line and curve in Reina's face. He should have known! Well, maybe it was because Reina had his father's hair and eyes. Or it was because Heero and Relena did a good job in hiding the twins from the spotlight. It might also be that **that** possiblity just plain didn't occur to him. _Or maybe I'm just a big stupid ass, _ he thought. _My God! We've taken Jiiro and Reina's mom hostage! What would they think if they find out about it? What would the others think?_ Then something popped to his head. _The others… They're family friends of Jiiro and Reina. What if they too were the children of the other Gundam pilots?_

Seeing Qintaro's reaction, Relena knew that the friends he was referring to earlier were her children. "Qintaro ---" 

Relena didn't finish what she was going to say when all of a sudden, Qintaro's face regained its expressionless mask as he stared at her with cold eyes. He handed the locket back to her then silently walked out of the room. 

Relena sadly watched him leave. She knew how he must feel, having felt it herself when she learned that Athena was the enemy. But at least she didn't have to fight Athena. In this case, Qintaro had to face Jiiro and Reina in battle. _Why did fate have to be cruel to those kids?_ she wondered. Not only were they forced to fight, they were forced to fight those dearest to them. "I hope he finds his way," she prayed. "And I hope all of them will survive the coming battle and become friends again."

  
  


"Can't keep away from them, I see," Sean said as he entered the hangar where the 5 Gundams and the Tallgeese where kept. 

"Well, each of them is an exquisite piece of machinery. Nobody who appreciates Mobile Suits could really stay away from them," 14-yr old Colin replied from inside Altron's cockpit. "How's the base, by the way?" 

"A- OK," the redhead answered, heading straight to Deathscythe Hell. 

An 18-yr old guy with raven hair and hazel eyes lowered himself from the Tallgeese. "Sean, where's Qintaro?" Miles asked. 

Sean's green eyes glinted with mischief as he sat down on Deathscythe's feet. "He didn't exactly tell me where he was going when he hurriedly went out of the shuttle upon landing. But one guess is that he's in Miss Relena's room. As always." 

"Qintaro had really taken an interest in her, huh," Dean remarked while making a diagnostics check on Heavyarms. "Reina won't be too happy about that once she finds out," the 14-yr old added, a small smile forming on his lips. 

Ren went out of Sandrock's cockpit. "You know the reason why Qintaro is so taken in with her, Dean," he told his brother. At first glance, no one would suspect that Ren was 2 years older than Dean. They looked more like twins, with the same height and built, even the same smoky-gray eyes. The only difference was their hair --- Ren's was black while Dean's was brown. "She looks so much like Reina." 

"Speaking of look-alikes, something weird happened to me at the base," Sean said. "I checked the Gundam pilots in their room and one of them, Duo Maxwell, you know, the pilot of Deathscythe, actually reminded me of Deity. With the long braid and the violet eyes, the resemblance is scary." 

Ren grinned. "Don't tell us that you're going to ask the General to restation you to Buena Park so you can also give him his meals." 

Sean gave him a look. "Of course not. He's a guy for crying out loud. Qintaro can do that because the person who reminds him of Reina is a girl. Besides, Unc --- I mean the General wouldn't allow such a transfer." Even 8 years of training couldn't make him get used to calling his Uncle 'General'. And if that was hard for him, just imagine how Qintaro must felt like whenever he had to address his father 'General'. 

After finishing what he was doing inside Altron, Colin went down and joined his friends. "Miss Relena reminds me of Reina too, you know. And when I think of Reina, I think of Lee and the others," he told them, his lavender eyes mirroring the sadness evident in his voice. 

Miles went to Colin and ruffled the younger kid's blue hair. "Hey, we miss them too. But don't you worry. The General promised us that once everything is stable in the ESUN, we could all go back to RECON. We could resume our lives by then." 

Dean went out of Heavyarms cockpit and lowered himself down. "But can we really resume our lives? I mean, we piloted the Gundams, we killed a lot of soldiers and we had overthrown the present ESUN government. We even have the President hostage right here in the Palace. Do you think folks like us can still be accepted by society and lead normal lives? What would our friends think when they find out about this? Will they still accept us?" 

Everyone remained silent as Dean's words hit home. They were all thinking of the same thing. After a moment, Ren said, "Well, nobody really knew what we've done. And nobody will have to know. It was part of the mission, right? The General wanted the public to think that the original Gundam pilots were the ones who attacked the Palace. Except for Heero Yuy, he couldn't possibly attack his own wife. And RECON is an anonymous school, so there's nothing to worry about. We can go back and pick up where we left off, as if we didn't go at all." 

"I can't help thinking that we did the wrong thing, though," Colin quietly stated. 

"We are soldiers. And we were trained to follow orders, not to question if an order is right or wrong first before doing it or to ponder our actions afterwards," Miles told everyone. He then heaved a big sigh. "Personally, we might think that what we did was wrong, that what we're **still ** doing is wrong. But we have no choice. The General rescued us from the streets and took us in. He gave us everything that we have now and we'll forever be in his debt. This is the only way we could repay him." 

"Yeah. We are one family. And for all of us, this is the only family we had ever known. The General is the head of this family and we'll follow him wherever he leads us, whether it be the right or the wrong path," Sean said. Wanting to lighten up the conversation, Sean remarked, "AAAGGHH! I still couldn't get the similarity between Duo Maxwell and Deity out of my head." He then shivered. "I keep picturing them alternatley in my mind. This is really getting scary." 

The others laughed. "You might get nightmares about it, Sean," Dean said. 

"Maybe they're related or something," Ren suggested. 

"Nah. I don't think so," Sean replied. Then he grinned when something popped into his head. "I sure wish I could take Deity for a ride in Deathscythe. What do you think she'll say?" 

"She'll hit you hard then tell you that she doesn't want to see you again because you stole his father's Gundam," Qintaro said humorlessly from the door. 

The 5 kids turned to look at him. Sean shook his head. "Man. You do have one weird sense of humor," he told his cousin. 

"I'm not joking. Deity will beat you to a pulp for stealing his father's Gundam," Qintaro replied in his no-nonsense tone as he approached them. Miles, Ren, Colin, Dean and Sean got a little nervous when they saw that Qintaro was being as serious as hell. 

"What are you talking about, Qintaro?" Miles asked. 

"I talked to Miss Relena and I discovered something interesting. I then did a little digging and guess what I found," Qintaro answered, tossing a folder to them. 

Ren caught the folder and opened it. The 5 kids paled when they read the data inside. "What the f---" Sean blurted out. 

Dean couldn't believe what he was reading. "Jiiro Adin Yuy. Reina Keiko Yuy. Deity Maxwell. Trion Barton. Kai Dotre Winner. Lee Fei Chang. Rhys Illiard Peacecraft." He looked at Qintaro. "You mean..." 

"I thought all of the Gundam pilots' families were captured," Miles softly said. 

"Fath--- the General relied on the idea that the pilots will take everyone in their respective families with them on their 'vacation' so he didn't check if the family members were complete once they were captured," Qintaro replied. "And their parents made a good job in hiding them and their information from the public. Enrolling them in RECON helped a lot too. The only place where I got their data was from the Census." 

"What now?" Colin asked. 

"Nothing. What they don't know wouldn't hurt them," Qintaro responded. 

"But what if they attack us and try to take back the ESUN?" Ren inquired. 

"They don't have the means to fight us. We have the Gundams, remember? But if they do, then we have no choice but to fight them," Qintaro responded with finality.

  
  
**At the same time… **  
  


The 7 kids gathered in the guys' room after dinner. The revelation that afternoon came as a shock to them, but knowing how dangerous it was to have distractions during that time, they decided to store the news at the back of their heads and just ponder about it after completing their training. And now, it was time for them to come into terms with the grim truth. 

"Knowing that you have to fight and kill a nameless soldier is hard enough. Knowing that you have to fight or maybe even kill your own bestfriend is much worse," Lee remarked. 

Rhys plopped on his bed dejectedly. "You got that right. The irony of all ironies, huh. This is what we get from enrolling in a school where nobody knew anything about their respective friends' backgrounds." 

"That works both ways too. I'm sure that they didn't know that our fathers were the Gundam pilots either," Trion pointed out. 

"Even if they knew or not, this is still an absolute nightmare. How can we possibly fight them?" Deity asked. 

"We'll fight them just like we're trained to do, just like how we're planning on fighting any other soldier," Jiiro stated. 

Kai sighed. "It's not as simple as it sounds, Jiiro. We were trained to win, to defeat an enemy. But can we use that training on our friends? I, for one, don't know if I can fight Ren, much less win over him." 

"That indecision will kill you, Kai. We can't afford to get distracted. We must focus on accomplishing our mission," Jiiro told them. 

"Aren't you bothered that you're going to face Qintaro tomorrow?" Rhys asked his cousin. 

Everyone saw something flashed on Jiiro's eyes, but only for a brief moment. He glanced at Reina first before replying, "I am. But what I'm feeling is irrelevant. Our mission is to win back peace. That entails recovering the power Raidon had stolen. And whoever shall fight me and stand in my way is my enemy. If Qintaro decides to be my enemy, then I have no choice but to fight him." With that said, Jiiro left the room. 

"He's more bothered than he's willing to let on," Deity commented. 

"I'll go after him," Reina told everyone before following her brother out of the room. 

"I agree with Jiiro. We might not like it and we might regret it for the rest of our lives, but we have to fight them. And not just fight them, we must defeat them. Everything is at stake here," Trion remarked. 

"But defeating is different from killing. And it's scary to think that we have to resort into killing them just so we could defeat them," Kai voiced out. 

"I don't know if I could live with myself knowing that I killed Sean," Deity said sadly. 

"Hey, Dad battled Uncle Heero before and they both survived," Rhys told them. "Uncle Heero defeated Dad but he didn't kill him. And they weren't even friends then. It's the same with Uncle Heero and Athena. So you see, it might not come to the point where we have to kill Miles and the others." 

"Maybe. But we still must accept the possibility that we have to kill them. To accomplish our mission," Lee said in a grim tone.

  
  


Outside the base, Reina sat on a log while Jiiro leaned against a tree, both staring at the night sky. "You don't want to fight him, huh, Niichan?" 

"Of course. No one in his right mind would want to fight his bestfriend," Jiiro replied. "But I have to. You know that, don't you, Reina?" 

"Hn. Do what you have to do, Niichan. Don't think about me." 

He looked solemnly at her. "You know how alike Qintaro and I are. That once we set our minds onto something, we won't stop until we accomplish it. If neither of us would budge, we might end up killing each other tomorrow." 

"It doesn't need to come to that. I don't want to lose either one of you." She took his hand. "I won't lose you, Qintaro nor any of our other friends," she said with conviction. 

Jiiro smiled. "And how do you plan to do that?" 

Reina smiled back. "I can just be as stubborn as you and Qintaro are." 

Jiiro was about to reply when both of them grew alert, their heightened senses picking up something. But whoever the intruder was, he was good. Neither of the twins could pinpoint his exact location. And it was like he was deliberately letting them hear him, though the sound he was making was inaudible to an ordinary human. After a few minutes, their heads jerked to the right and saw their father standing a few feet away. 

"I see that you're putting your training to good use," Heero greeted as he walked towards them. 

"Of course we are. We want you to be proud of us," Reina said with a smile. 

"I've always been proud of you both," Heero stated, leaning on the tree next to Jiiro. "What are you two doing out here, by the way?" 

"We just wanted to get some fresh air," Reina responded. "How about you, Tousan?" 

"The same." Silence. After a moment, Heero asked, "Thinking of tomorrow's battle?" The twins nodded. "You'll do fine. I believe in all of you." 

"Believing is one thing. Actually winning the battle and accomplishing the mission is another," Jiiro stated. 

Heero couldn't help but smile upon hearing his son's remark. Jiiro clearly took after him. There was also a time when he shared the same philosophy. But everything changed the day he met Relena. "Before going out to face Zechs during the Eve Wars, I asked your Kaasan to believe in me. And she did. Her belief in me was the reason I managed to accomplish my mission and survived. I hope our belief in you kids will help you too." 

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Tousan. And I promise that we won't put your belief in us to waste," Reina said as she stood up. She knew that her brother was still troubled and that their father could help him more than she could. "I'm going back inside now. Goodnight, Tousan. Goodnight, Niichan." 

"Goodnight," the two guys chorused. Reina inserted her ring into the ring slot and went inside the camouflaged door. 

Father and son remained in a companionable silence long after Reina had left. Finally, Jiiro said, "I really appreciate your belief in us, Tousan. You don't know how much that meant to us. And I'm sorry if I sounded rude earlier." 

"No need to apologize. I understand," Heero told him. Two pairs of Prussian blue eyes stared right into each other. "What's really bothering you, Jiiro?" 

Jiiro sighed. He might as well tell his father. Maybe he could help him. "It's about facing Qintaro tomorrow." 

"Stygma's pilot?" 

Jiiro nodded. "It's not that I'm chickening out. I know what I have to do. And I'm willing to do anything to ensure the success of the mission tomorrow. But the thought of killing my bestfriend and the would-be boyfriend of my sister doesn't sound so appealing to me. And I don't know if I could ever forgive myself once that happens." 

"Hn," Heero acknowledged as he looked up the sky. "Unlike you and Qintaro, Zechs and I weren't exactly friends when we fought. We respected each other as soldiers, as kindred spirits if you like, but that's it. I could just kill him. We have no personal attachments. And killing him would end the war. But I know that he's Relena's brother. In any ordinary circumstance I could care less, but I did care then. I don't want to make Relena sad. At the end, I managed to accomplish my mission without sacrificing Relena's happiness." Jiiro looked at him questioningly. "What I'm trying to say is that there are times when you don't need to kill in order to accomplish a mission or defeat an enemy." 

"But how would I know when I don't need to kill and when I do need to kill in order to defeat an enemy?" 

"You'll know. I always told you to act on your emotions, didn't I? Do whatever you feel is the right thing to do. Zero will guide you." 

Jiiro pondered on his father's words. Somehow, things seemed to make more sense now. "Thanks, Tousan." 

"Hn. Let's get back inside. You need to be well-rested for the battle tomorrow." 

  
  


Athena saw Reina got out of the glass tube. "Where's Jiiro?" 

"He's still up there, talking with Tousan," Reina answered as she headed to the kitchen. She took out a carton of milk from the refrigerator and poured herself a glass. She leaned against the counter and drank her milk as she stared off to space. 

Athena noticed this so she went to the kitchen, poured herself some coffee and sat down in front of her. "How's everyone holding up?" 

"Ok, I guess. We're not having any pre-war jitters if that's what you're asking," Reina replied, still staring off. 

"So what's the matter then? I noticed that you and the others were a little subdued after the training." 

Reina looked at her. "We're just bothered about the idea that our friends are our enemies." 

Athena nodded. "I was worried about you kids the first time I've discovered about Qintaro and the others being the new Gundam pilots. I know that you hang out together at school. But I didn't know that you're that close. At least you're not going to face any of them in battle." 

"True. But I still feel sorry for the others. Rhys and Miles, Kai and Ren, Trion and Dean, Lee and Colin, Niichan and Qintaro --- they are all bestfriends. Then there's Sean and Deity who like each other. Just think how hard it would be for them to fight each other." 

Athena didn't miss the slight softening in Reina's voice when she mentioned Qintaro's name. And she remembered Reina muttering his name when they saw the pictures that afternoon. "What about you, Reina?" 

"What about me? My bestfriend? You know that Deity is my bestfriend." 

"What I mean is, what's the deal with Qintaro, hmm?" Athena asked with a grin. 

Reina blushed. "He's a close friend." 

"Is that all?" 

"Umm, Lee told me that everyone at school thinks that we have this 'thing' going on." 

"And do you?" 

"I don't know. I mean, I like him a lot and I think he likes me back but there's nothing official about anything. We were supposed to go to a dance next week, though. But he cancelled because he needed to go home for a family emergency. Now I know what kind of family emergency it was --- launching a coup on ESUN." 

Athena smiled. "You know, I remember having this kind of conversation with your mother when we were younger. I was teasing her about Heero. Hey, I think you're experiencing the same thing your mother went through when she was 15. The guy she likes and her brother had to face each other in a battle to bring peace to the ESUN. What a coincidence huh." Reina laughed at the thought. Athena then gazed at her tenderly. "I can see her in you. Especially when you smile. Actually, I can see both her and Heero in you." 

Reina smiled at her. "Kaasan would really be happy once she finds out that you're alive. She missed you." 

"And I miss her. She's the first friend I ever had." Athena's eyes then got that far-away look. "I kinda know how you and the others are feeling right now. I was ordered to infiltrate the Congregation as Relena's assistant during Operation Domino. But becoming real friends with her was not part of the mission parameters. It just happened. She always had that effect on people. And the thought that I was fooling her and that one day I had to kidnap her or much worse, kill her gnawed at me night and day. But I still proceeded with the mission. It was the most difficult mission I ever had. And I had many missions before. It's harder for you, having to face this kind of situation in your very first mission --- a mission so crucial it will decide the fate of the ESUN forever." 

"However difficult and whatever the cost, I just hope that we win tomorrow, that we win back peace," Reina said. "And I hope that I wouldn't be a disappointment to you," she added in a soft voice. 

"You will never disappoint me, Reina. You're just as I expected you to be, and so much more. I wouldn't have found a better successor. As for tomorrow's battle, I'm certain that you'll pull it off. We believe in all of you. It's high time you believe in yourselves." 

Athena and Reina then turned their heads at the same time and saw Heero and Jiiro coming out of the glass tube. "Ok, princess, time for bed. We'll be leaving early tomorrow," Athena told her. 

Reina placed her glass inside the dishwasher then asked, "Do you have any last advice to give me?" 

Athena smiled. "Always remember that you and the HAVOC are one and the same. Your strength is his strength, his pain is your pain. And like what your father said, the only way to live a good life is to act on one's emotions. Do what you feel is the right thing to do, Reina. Even if ordered otherwise." 

"Thanks, Athena. For everything. Goodnight." 

"Goodnight."

  
  


After finishing the last minute preparations for the attack the next day, Heero went to the girls' room. He stood by Reina's bed, silently gazing at her sleeping form. _She looks so much like you, Relena. If only you could see her and Jiiro now, you'll be proud of them. _ He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. He saw Reina smile in her sleep. He then went to Deity's bed, also planting a kiss on her forehead. He smiled when he heard her mumble, "Dad, use your own hairbrush. And don't eat all the lamb chops. Leave some for me." 

Afterwards, he went to the room he shared with the boys. He stood by the doorway, silently gazing at the 5 sleeping kids on their beds. He saw Athena planting a goodnight kiss on each of the boys' foreheads. A small smile tugged on his lips. Time had surely flown really fast. It seemed like just yesterday when those kids had their first words, their first steps. Now, they were so grown up. In fact, they were so grown up that they were actually headed to war tomorrow in their own Gundams where they would taste their first mission, their first kill. He wasn't exactly looking forward to that kind of 'first' in their lives, no parent would. If only he could, he would stop tomorrow from coming. But that was impossible. He might be the Perfect Soldier but there were things that only a God could do. 

Those kids --- Rhys, Kai, Deity, Trion, Lee and the other pilots' kids, he regarded them as his own children. Having been through a lot together, he and the others saw themselves as a family, a one big family and he would be damned if he would let anything happen to any of them. He would kill anyone who would dare hurt any member of his family. 

"Don't worry about them. We've trained them well. They'll win," Athena said when she approached him. 

"I know. I just can't keep myself from worrying about them. I think it comes with the territory of being a parent," Heero replied. "Tomorrow would be their first mission. Do you remember your first mission?" he asked her. 

"Yes. You?" 

"Hn. Nobody ever forgets his first kill. No matter how hard he tried." He stopped for a moment then continued, "I never wished for tomorrow to come. I just hope that it'll be their first and last mission." 

"As do I. Go to bed, Heero. We have a full day tomorrow. Goodnight." 

"Goodnight," Heero told Athena. He went to Jiiro's bed, kissed him on the forehead and whispered, "I'm proud of you," before going to his own bed.

  
  



	6. The battlefield of sorrow Part I

Gundam Legacy Chapter 6   
  
**Disclaimer: **For the umpteenth time --- I. Don't. Own. Gundam. Wing.   
  
If truth be told, all battles are miserable and sorrowful. For comments, suggestions, flames or reviews, you can email me at raizenheero@aol.com  
  
  


**Gundam Legacy**   
by Neesah 

  
  


**Chapter 6: The battlefield of sorrow Part I**

  
  
  
** The next day… **

A shuttle steadily approached Buena Park, only stopping when it reached the checkpoint. "You're presently in Buena Park's airspace. Please confirm your reservation before you can proceed," an electronic voice stated. The shuttle's pilot complied, typing what was asked of her. She knew that while she was doing so, Buena Park's security system was scanning the shuttle for anything that would prove dangerous. She felt somehow sorry for them, for even if her shuttle ** indeed ** carried something dangerous, they wouldn't be able to detect it. 

"Welcome to Buena Park, Miss Thea Mannings. We hope that you'll enjoy your stay. Just go straight to docking bay 2. Thank you." 

The pilot turned her head, her gray-green eyes focusing on her co-pilot. Her co-pilot nodded and stood up, heading towards the back of the shuttle. As the shuttle proceeded to the docking bay, a flash came out from behind it. But Buena Park's sensors didn't pick up anything, nor did the surveillance cameras. It was like the flash didn't happen at all. 

  
  


Athena made a careful but quick scan of her hotel room upon entering, making sure that there were no bugs or camouflaged cameras. Satisfied, she took out the notebook PC from her backpack and sat down. Her notebook PC was state-of-the-art, the latest model in Heero's line of portable PC's. It was only ¾ of an inch thick, very lightweight (only weighing 2 ½ lbs), half the size of an ordinary laptop but thrice as powerful. She turned it on and started hacking into Buena Park's computer system. Thanks to Heero's hacking, they learned from the blueprints that though Buena Park was divided into two levels, it was basically run by the same computer system. The upper level was the one technically known to everyone as Buena Park, the famous resort and theme park while the lower level was the center of Raidon's operations. The Resource Satellite had many gates leading to Buena Park, having to cater to many clients, but there was only one gate leading to Raidon's underground base, placed underneath the satellite, hidden from prying eyes. But as expected, there was a way to go back and forth between the two levels --- through a private elevator that could only be used by Buena Park's employees who had a security card. That was why she was there right now. Going in from the bottom gate was too risky. She needed to infiltrate the base as quietly as possible. 

With all this information, she and Heero were able to piece together how Raidon abducted the others. The free passes Raidon sent included a provision for the families to stay in the hotel's luxurious Penthouse Suite, occupying a whole floor. From there, the pilots and their families could have been drugged or attacked, then dragged to the private elevator without other people noticing. 

Athena finished uploading the virus to the security system, making sure that the surveillance cameras outside her room leading to the private elevator were the first ones to get infected. She turned her notebook PC off, put it back in her backpack then took out a watch-like gadget and put it on her wrist. Grabbing her backpack, she went out of her room. 

Athena was forced to stop at the corner when she saw 2 men emerged from the elevator. She waited until the coast was clear before proceeding. She stopped in front of the elevator, looked up and saw the surveillance camera aimed at her. But she wasn't worried. The virus she uploaded would recognize the pulse her watch was emitting, making it erase her image as it was being shown in the control room. Instead of capturing an auburn-haired girl in black denim cut-offs, tank top and boots going inside the private elevator, the camera would return an image of an empty corridor, sort-of like wearing white in a white-screened background, or being invisible. It really was ingenuous. It was one of her seek and destroy (or delete for that matter) viruses, her specialty. 

She took out a skeleton card (sort-of like a skeleton key) from her pocket, one that could open any card-slot controlled door. She swiped it in the card slot and the door opened. She went inside and looked at the panel. She saw a button labeled U below the button labeled B, and guessing that 'U' stood for Underground, she pressed it. The door closed and the elevator started its descent. 

When the elevator stopped moving, she took out her gun and carefully went out. There might be some guards patrolling the corridor or someone had to use the elevator to go up. Thankful that no one was around, she hurled herself up and entered a nearby airvent.

  
  


The HAVOC stealthily scouted the perimeter of Buena Park, even checking the few colonies near it. The HAVOC's black exterior blended well with the blackness of space, aiding it to proceed without getting detected, its hyperjammers also a great factor. Reina continued looking around, her head clear and all of her senses alert. A voice suddenly came from the commlink, penetrating her thoughts. 

"I'm in," Athena said in her monotonous voice. "What's your status?" 

"I finished surveying the whole area. There are several Sepent Suits within the vicinity. I also spotted some in the nearby colonies. All-in-all, 30 Suits," Reina reported. "I wanted to take care of them now, quickly and quietly, so that they wouldn't cause any trouble to you later on. But someone from the base might get suspicious if the patrol teams failed to report back." 

"Hn. Nice call. I'll deal with them later," Athena told her. 

"Since I'm done here, I better get going." 

"Be careful, Reina," Athena said, her voice softening, but only for a second. "Goodluck." 

"You too. See you later, Athena," Reina replied. HAVOC then flew away, in the direction of MO-II.

  
  


Athena peered through the airvent, seeing 5 armed guards accompanying a soldier pushing a cart, collecting the breakfast trays from the 2 rooms in the corridor. She took out her notebook PC, turned on the keypad light and started making adjustments to the security camera on top of each of the doors. Since both cameras were aimed at the door opposite them, anyone coming in and out could be seen. With her watch and the virus, she was as good as invisible but the doors opening and closing without anyone present in the corridor that could have caused such actions would arouse suspicions. So she waited until the soldiers were gone, captured the image of the empty corridor, uploaded it and made it loop for 10 minutes. Hopefully, no one in the control room would suspect anything and no other soldiers would visit the prisoners by that span of time. She put the notebook PC back inside her backpack, opened the airvent and jumped out. Judging by the number of trays she saw the soldier collected earlier, the 5 pilots were being held in the room at the left so she went there first. After overriding the electronic lock, the door opened and she stepped in. Five heads turned to look at her. 

"Athena," Quatre said as a form of a greeting. 

Duo flashed her his trademarked smile. "Well, it's about time, babe. Where's Heero?" 

"I'll explain everything later. Come on, the clock is ticking," Athena answered. 

The guys nodded then the 6 of them went outside, closing the door behind them. Athena went to the opposite room and started overriding the electronic lock. When the door opened, she let the guys enter first. Exclaims of surprise and joy were heard as each pilot was reunited with his respective family. 

Lady Une was the first one who noticed. Then Catherine. Hilde, Dorothy, Sally and Noin looked over their husbands' shoulders and gasped. Midii didn't really know who she was but she was still surprised to see a woman standing by the door. 

"Athena!" Lady Une, Catherine, Hilde, Dorothy, Sally and Noin yelled in unison, their eyes wide. The last time they saw Athena was 20 years ago but there was no mistaking the auburn-hair and gray-green eyes. It definitely was her. 

"But--- you're---" Hilde stammered. 

"Dead? It's a long story. The guys could tell you all about it later," Athena told them. The women looked accusingly at the 5 pilots. "Can someone guard the door? We can't close it because it could only be opened from the outside and we should watch out for the guards patrolling the base. This operation should be executed as quietly as possible." 

Zechs and Wufei volunteered and walked over to the door. Athena rummaged through her backpack and tossed two guns with silencers to the two men. "Here's the plan. Since we couldn't just blow up Raidon's base, I have to disengage the main array to prevent it from firing at the colonies once the kids attack the Palace and Heero sneaks in to get Relena and Raidon. The 15 Sanc Kingdom guards who escaped will prevent the rest of Raidon's army stationed at the main Preventer base to send in back-up while Reina, in HAVOC, will prevent MO-II from sending in reinforcements. If you're wondering what Suits the other kids are piloting, the guys will also tell you about that later." The women looked at the guys accusingly again. 

Athena took out another gun with a silencer and 2 watch-like gadgets from her backpack. She tossed one of the gadgets to Wufei, the rest she tossed to Trowa. "Trowa, Wufei, I need you to come with me to the control room. You know how those gadgets work, right? Most of the soldiers are stationed in the control room so it'll save time if we attack them together." 

She turned to address the others. "The rest of you stay here. You can't go out yet. You'll be spotted by the surveillance cameras. If any soldier comes in here, fire at him, Zechs. We can't let them discover us just yet. Wufei will go back here to open the door once the control room is secured. He'll give you the guns of the fallen soldiers. Then, you can all go out. Trowa will remain with me to guard the control room as I work and to answer any incoming transmission so as not to arouse suspicions. Zechs, Duo, Quatre, Wufei, Lady Une, Noin and Hilde, search the base. Make sure that no soldier will be able to sound the alarm or warn Raidon. Then proceed to the hangar and get inside a Suit. Be ready to attack. Reina spotted 30 Serpents within Buena Park's vicinity and the nearby colonies. They might try to get in to regain control of the base or fix the main array, blow up the place, take the people in Buena Park hostage to stop the attack on the Palace or proceed to MO-II as reinforcement. We can't allow any of that to happen. Meanwhile, the rest of you head to the private elevator and go to docking bay 2. That's where I left my shuttle. Use this key to find it," Athena said, tossing a key to Sally. "Wait there. Trowa and I will join Duo and the rest in fending off the 30 MS Suits. After the battle, we'll get Reina and return to Earth. I'll get a Mobile Suit transport cargo from the hangar so we could bring the Serpent Suits to Earth and help the kids with the attack." 

"What about us who don't know how to pilot Mobile Suits? We want to help too," Catherine asked. 

"Midii, Toby and I can pilot an armed shuttle," Sally voiced out. 

"Quatre had been teaching me how to operate an armed shuttle," Dorothy informed them. 

"And I've been teaching Cathy too, in exchange for knife throwing lessons," Midii added. 

"In that case, I'll also load up two armed shuttles for Sally and Dorothy, Midii and Catherine in the transport cargo," Athena stated. She turned to Toby. "You'll be in charge of flying Marie, Ardy and the rest of the kids to safety while we battle." Toby nodded his assent. 

Duo grinned. "It's funny how we're planning to use Raidon's own weapons against him. Tsk, tsk, the irony of life." 

"He used the Gundams against us so we're just even," Zechs replied. 

Athena handed the notebook PC to Quatre. "Study the map of the base so you'll know where you're headed." 

"We will. Thanks," Quatre told her. 

Athena looked at her watch. "We only have 15 minutes remaining. Let's go," she said to Wufei and Trowa. 

Wufei hugged Sally while Trowa kissed Midii then hugged Catherine before following Athena out of the room. With a slight nod to Zechs, Athena closed the door.

  
  
**On Earth… **  
  


Three shadowy figures infiltrated the former main Preventer base in the Sanc Kingdom. One of them hacked into the computer system, getting the manual override codes for the doors leading to the hangar where the MS were kept while the other 2 planted explosives in different sectors of the base. They weren't planning on blowing up the whole base. On the contrary, they wanted to save the base and the Serpent Suits inside in preparation for the day they would start rebuilding the Preventers Organization. They didn't know if it was because of that lady who talked to them, or if it was the thought of Heero Yuy planning this whole operation, but they were certain that this operation would be a success. With their tasks done, they returned to their comrades a few miles away, hidden by the cloaking net and security system Jiiro used in their shuttle, waiting for the attack to commence. 

  
  


Raidon permitted a small smile to form on his lips as he watched his 6 'sons' inside the President's office. Miles and Ren were playing chess by the fireplace, Dean watching their game. Opposite them, Colin sat on the couch by the bookshelf, reading a book. Beside him, Qintaro was tinkering with his laptop, Sean looking over his shoulder. Sometimes, he had a hard time adjusting to the fact that they were all so grown-up now. He was proud of them, proud of what they had become --- strong and skillful soldiers. He had trained them well. 

"It's nice that you decided to spend time with me and not run to the hangar immediately after breakfast to play with your Gundams," Raidon remarked from behind his desk. 

The 6 kids turned their attention to him. "Sorry if we've neglected our duties to you, General," Miles said. 

"That's alright. I can understand why you're all so enamored with the Gundams. They really are something else, aren't they? Besides, you were trained for the sole purpose of piloting them. I'm pleased that you're putting your training to good use," Raidon told them. 

"All these years, we were trained to pilot the Gundams through Stygma's simulation. And though Stygma's simulation is very realistic, piloting the real thing is quite a different experience," Ren voiced out. 

"Very exhilarating," Colin added. "And addicting. It seems like you just can't get enough of it." 

"It's too bad we only got to pilot them once," Dean commented. 

"Only once in battle. But many times in joyrides," Sean remarked with a grin. 

"You are all well aware that I allow you to go on joyrides as long as only 2 of you leave at the same time. Don't forget that Heero Yuy is still out there and we don't know when he's going to strike. You must always be ready to fight him and fend off the 'army' he'll be bringing," Raidon told them. "Though I wonder where he'll get the necessary firepower that will stand against my vast armada, more importantly, soldiers who are willing to fight beside him." 

Qintaro, Miles, Ren, Dean, Colin and Sean looked at each other. They knew 7 people who would be willing to fight beside Heero Yuy. 

Raidon leaned backwards on his chair. "Hmm, things are getting dull around here. The last excitement we had was during the coup." He stopped, then chuckled when a thought came into his head. "Dean, get Miss Relena. If hearing her speak about her ideals wouldn't liven things up a bit here, nothing can." 

Dean was about to obey the order when Qintaro suddenly stood up and said, "I'll go get her." And before anyone could react, Qintaro was out of the room. 

Raidon cocked an eyebrow at the kids, his question evident in his eyes. It didn't escape his attention that since the attack, Qintaro was the one who was bringing in Relena's meals. But it was a trivial matter so he just let it slipped. What Qintaro did in his free time was of no concern of his as long as he was not jeopardizing anything. But curiosity was getting the better of him. Besides, Qintaro was his son, his **true** son, so he should know if Qintaro was falling for their prisoner who was way older than him. Relena was old enough to be his mother and more importantly, she was already married. And if he gathered it correctly, Relena had children who were as old as Qintaro. 

"She reminds him of someone," Colin answered quietly. 

"Who?" 

The 5 kids tried to conceal their nervousness. "A close friend of ours," Sean replied. 

And that made Raidon think.

  
  


In her room, Relena stood by the window, lost in thought. _Those poor kids, _ she said to herself as she remembered what transpired last night.

  
  


******************************FLASHBACK******************************

  
  


Relena's eyes suddenly fluttered open the second she heard the door of her room opened, then closed. She heard some shuffling noises and hushed whispering a few feet away from her bed. She remained still, glad that her back was turned against the door, and listened to the voices. 

"Look, she's already asleep. We better leave." 

"We shouldn't have come this late." 

"We shouldn't have come period." 

"Yeah. Qintaro and the General will be mad once they find out we sneaked in to her room." 

"But we need to talk to her. We need to hear it for ourselves." 

Realizing that her midnight visitors didn't mean her any harm, Relena turned over then sat up, facing them. Sean, Miles, Ren, Dean and Colin were surprised with the suddenness of her actions. The soft moonlight coming from the window illuminated her features as she tried to see their faces. She stood up and turned on the light. She saw 5 kids in soldiers' uniform staring back at her. She remembered them now. They were Qintaro's friends, the other Gundam pilots. She hadn't seen them since the day of the attack. Well, Qintaro was the only one who visited her. 

"What can I do for you?" she asked them softly. 

The 5 kids blinked, as if seeing someone else. They stared at her for a moment before Miles answered, "Umm, sorry if we woke you up, Miss Relena. By the way, I'm Miles. That's Sean, Dean, Colin and Ren." The other kids nodded at her. "We're here to, uhh, confirm some things." 

Relena smiled at them. They couldn't resist smiling back, seeing her similarity with Reina. Even their voices sounded the same. "What do you want me to confirm?" 

"You're husband is Heero Yuy, Gundam pilot 01, right?" Colin asked. Relena nodded. "And Jiiro and Reina are your kids?" 

Relena smiled at them again. "Yes. Here's the proof," she answered, unclasping her necklace and handing it to them. The kids opened the locket and saw the Yuy family picture. "So you know them too, huh?" 

"Yeah. Jiiro, Reina, Deity, Trion, Kai, Lee, Rhys, Qintaro and the 5 of us --- we all hang out together at school," Ren said. 

"Trion and the rest, they're the kids of the other Gundam pilots too, aren't they? And they're all family friends of yours?" Dean asked, handing the locket back to her. 

"Yes. All of us met during the war and became good friends ever since," Relena replied. "Why do you ask?" 

"Since we discovered that our friends are the original Gundam pilots' kids, we want to know if there's any chance of us fighting them," Sean earnestly informed her. "We thought that you might be able to help us. Don't think that we're here to pry information from you, Miss Relena. Everything that you'll tell us will be completely off the record, as they would say. We didn't even tell the General that there are still some children of the Gundam pilots on the loose. We just want to know if there's even a remote possibility of us facing each other in battle." 

"You see, Rhys is my bestfriend, Kai si Ren's bestfriend, Trion is Dean's bestfriend, Lee is Colin's bestfriend, Jiiro is Qintaro's bestfriend and he likes Reina while Sean likes Deity," Miles explained. "It's very disturbing to think that we might have to fight them. Obviously, we don't want to fight our own bestfriends. But we will if we have to." 

"And we want to prepare ourselves and not be surprised if ever the time comes," Ren added. "We know it sounds crazy, that it sounds like we don't have wills of our own. But we are indebted to the General. He took us in and took good care of us. He's our father. And we'll obey anything he'll ask of us. Even fight our bestfriends." 

Relena remained silent as she pondered things. She didn't want to say anything that could compromise the kids and whatever Heero was planning but she didn't want to lie to these poor souls either. She could see the pain in their eyes. It was really hard to know that you had to fight a friend and it would help if you were ready when you finally face them. It was always good to know one's enemy. And knowing Heero, Jiiro and rest of the kids must have known by now who their enemies were. Finally, she decided to tell them what she knew. 

"Heero and the other pilots trained our respective firstborns bit by bit while they were growing up, grooming them to become their successors in preparation for the time that the Gundams will be needed once again. The kids had no idea that they were being trained though, thinking that their fathers just wanted them to stay fit and strong. And even when they were young, their fathers thought it wise to tell them the real story behind the Gundams, instilling in them the value of duty, peace and justice. So to answer your question, they indeed have the necessary skills and motivation, knowing that with their fathers missing, they are the only ones who can bring the ESUN back to its proper order but they don't have the means to attack, now that you have all the Gundams except for Wing Zero." Though knowing her husband, he might have stashed away some MS somewhere. Still, in order to be successful, they needed Mobile Suits that could defeat the Gundams and Raidon's whole army. 

The 5 kids understood what she meant. If ever Jiiro and the others got the means to attack then they would have to fight each other. 

"Thanks, Miss Relena. We'll leave you to rest now," Dean told her. 

"And, umm, can we ask you to keep this 'visit' our little secret? We don't want Qintaro and the General to know," Colin asked. 

"Sure. But I think I'm not the one you should be worried about. The guards outside saw you, didn't they? They might tell Qintaro or Raidon," Relena said. 

Sean grinned. "Oh, we already took care of that. Let's just say that we gave them 'magic' coffees. And when they wake up and realized that they slept during their shifts, they'll be so ashamed and scared that the General will find out, they'll try not to mention anything that happened this night." 

Relena smiled. She genuinely liked these kids. She could see why her kids (all seven of them) were friends with them. "I wish that we have met in a happier circumstance," she told them wistfully. 

Ren smiled sadly at her. "We do too. Goodnight, Miss Relena." 

"Goodnight."

  
  


******************************END FLASHBACK******************************

  
  


Relena's reverie was interrupted when she heard the door to her room opened. She whirled around and saw Qintaro framed by her doorway. This was the first time she saw him since he walked out of her room last night, after discovering that Jiiro and Reina were her kids. Another soldier had brought her breakfast this morning. "Hi, Qintaro. Long time no see," she said in a pleasant voice. 

Qintaro remained stone-faced. "The General wants to see you in his office." 

Relena nodded and walked towards him. The two then went out of the room.

  
  


Upon entering the office, Relena saw the 5 kids staring at her. They exchanged silent greetings through their eyes, and some sort of assurance that their secret was safe with her, just like her secret was safe with them. She walked over to the desk where Raidon was waiting for her. Qintaro returned to his earlier position on the couch. 

"Good morning, Miss Relena. Please take a seat." He waited until Relena was seated before continuing. " I asked you here so you can enlighten my kids with regards to your ide---" Raidon was interrupted by the vidphone ringing. 

He reached out to answer the call. "What is it?" he growled. 

"General, sir, we are under attack," Capt. Torres informed him from the security room of the Palace. 

"WHAT?!" Raidon yelled. Qintaro, Sean, Miles, Ren, Dean and Colin jumped to their feet while Relena's face grew sad. _This is it, _ she thought as she looked at the 6 kids. She saw the shock in their eyes was replaced by sadness, then it changed to strong-willed resolution. 

"Six Gundams appeared out of nowhere and are currently attacking the first checkpoint perimeter. They already destroyed 100 Suits, sir." Capt Torres stopped, looked at his control panel then corrected his earlier report. "No, they destroyed 110 Suits... 120... 130..." He looked back at the monitor to face Raidon, his eyes holding back the fear. "And counting." 

"Gundams!" Raidon growled again, looking at Relena first before barking, "GO!" to the kids. They nodded at him. They caught Relena's gaze, gave her a pensive look before running out to the hangar. 

Raidon looked back at the screen. "Leave the Gundams to Qintaro and the others. Once they arrive at the 1st checkpoint perimeter, order the remaining Suits to fall back and prepare to defend the Palace." 

"Yes, sir." Raidon then terminated the call and dialed the number of the Dais Rogue HQ in the Sanc Kingdom. 

"The Palace is under attack. Send reinforcements ASAP," he ordered Capt. Myers. 

"Yes, General." 

Raidon disconnected the call and turned his head to regard Relena. "I see that Heero Yuy would rather sacrifice the colonies just to get you back. Maybe he thought that I was bluffing. I'll teach him not to mess with me." 

He then sent a transmission to his base, audio only. For security purposes, the transmission to and from the base was always audio only, that way it would be harder to track its location. That was the reason why Qintaro and Sean had to check the base personally. 

"Control room here," a voice from the base said. 

Relena tried to hide her surprise. She knew that voice very well, even if he didn't talk that much. 

"Ready the main array. Once it's fully charged, fire at the nearby colony. Continue charging it up and blasting one colony after another until I order you to stop. Understood?" 

"Yes, sir. Over and out." 

Raidon furrowed his forehead. Strange, he didn't recognize that soldier's voice. But he hastily shrugged the thought away. There were more pressing matters that he must attend to. He punched some keys again, this time sending a transmission to MO-II. Capt. Jackson's face appeared on the screen. 

"We are under attack. Send back-up troops here immediately," Raidon told him. 

"Consider it done, General," Capt. Jackson replied. Afterwhich, his image disappeared from the screen. 

  
  
**Dais Rogue HQ (formerly Preventers main base)**  
  


"Red-alert. Red-alert. All men get in your Suits and prepare to defend the Presidential Palace," Capt. Myers ordered in the audio system. 

All soldiers ran towards the hangar. They tried to open the doors but the controls weren't responding. They tried the manual override but the doors still wouldn't open. All of sudden, explosions rocked the whole building. Everyone made a stampede out of the building, only to find themselves surrounded by 15 Serpent Suits. 

"Surrender and we promise that we won't harm you," the leader, Capt. Richardson, told them from inside his Suit. 

Seeing that they didn't have any other options, the soldiers raised their hands in surrender. They rounded up every single soldier that survived the explosion. 

"Who's in-charge here?" Capt. Richardson asked. 

"I am," Capt. Myers replied. 

"Escort Capt. Myers inside," Capt. Richardson told one of the pilots. Lt. Marquez went out of his Suit and waved his gun to urge the Capt. to start walking. 

After a few minutes, Capt. Richardson reported to his commlink, "Main Preventer base secured." 

"Hn," came the reply.

  
  
**In the hangar of Raidon's Base**  
  


Zechs looked at his watch. "It's time," he said to the commlink. 

Seven Serpent Suits emerged from the bottom gate of Buena Park and blasted off. Immediately after, they were engaged in a fight. 

"This is not Sandrock but it'll do," Quatre commented, firing his missiles. 

Wufei blasted his enemies with his beam cannon. "I don't need Nataku to defeat 30 weak Suits." 

"I agree with Wu. With or without Deatscythe, I'm still the God of Death." And as if proving his point, he destroyed 3 Serpents in one shot of his bazooka. 

Lady Une, Noin and Hilde shook their heads as they continued battling. After all these years, those guys hadn't changed a bit. 

After a few minutes, they managed to destroy all the Suits guarding the base. But there were still about 20 lurking around. 

"It surely was a long time since we last fought inside a Suit," Noin remarked. 

"It was even a longer time for me," Hilde said. "Hope my piloting skills are not that rusty." 

"You did just fine there, babe. Besides, this fight is going to be a piece of cake," Duo told her. 

"Don't be too cocky, Duo. We're still outnumbered," Lady Une said. 

"We may not be in our Gundams but you know that when two Suits of the same strength fight each other, the outcome will depend on the skills of the pilots," Quatre stated. 

"The more skillful pilot is the one who'll emerge victorious," Wufei finished. 

"And I'm not being cocky when I say that though outnumbered, we stand a better chance of winning against them. Whether we like it or not, we are veterans in fighting," Zechs said. 

"Hope you're all right coz here they come!" Hilde suddenly said, interrupting their conversation. And the battle began once more.

  
  


Athena slid out under the main control panel. "All done." She stood up and walked towards Trowa, careful not to step on the bodies of the dead soldiers littered on the floor. "Nobody could ever make that main array work again, even how hard he tries." 

"Hn. I also disengaged the self-destruct mechanism of this Resource Satellite, just to be on the safe side," Trowa told her. Then they heard an incoming transmission. 

"Control room here," Trowa answered. 

"Ready the main array. Once it's fully charged, fire at the nearby colony. Continue charging it up and blasting one colony after another until I order you to stop. Understood?" Raidon ordered. 

"Yes, sir. Over and out," Trowa replied. He turned to Athena. "We have to go. The others must be engaged in battle as we speak and it'll only be a matter of time before Raidon discovers that something is wrong." 

"Right." The two then ran out towards the hangar. 

  
  
**In MO-II**  
  


Reina saw that MO-II's gate was opening, ready to deploy its troops. "Oh, no, you won't," she muttered, flying towards the gate. She stretched forth her 2 dragon fangs, then fired her 4 flamethrowers and vulcans simultaneously. Her enemies never knew what hit them. 

"Capt. Jackson, the Suits deployed from the 1st gate were all destroyed, sir," a soldier reported. 

"What?! How did that happen?! Nothing shows on the radar," Capt. Jackson said. Then they saw an image of a black Gundam on the screen. 

"A Gundam! I can't believe it!" Capt. Jackson exclaimed. "Send out troops to attack the Gundam now! Then use the other gate to send back-up troops to Earth." 

"Sir, the pilot is hailing us." 

"On screen." 

Reina's image appeared. "I promise not to hurt you if you stop sending troops to Earth and surrender." 

Capt. Jackson smirked. "I don't think so, little girl. Do you think that your idle threat fazes me?" 

"Don't tell me I didn't warn you," Reina stated flatly. The transmission was disconnected. 

Reina saw that more Suits were emerging from MO-II, heading towards her. Oh well, at least they were attacking her and not sending reinforcements to Earth. She flew towards them, firing her machine cannons. Then she took out her beam saber and sliced every Suit she came into contact with, her 10 planetary defensors protecting her from the Serpents' blasts. _I have to finish this quickly. They need me on Earth. _ She continued destroying the Suits. 

After a couple of minutes, she saw something at the corner of her eye that made the adrenaline rushed in her body. "NO!" she yelled, flying towards the 2 transport cargos carrying the back-up troops being deployed towards Earth from the other gate at the far side of the resource satellite. Reina narrowed her eyes. They fooled her. "Oh, you'll pay for this," she remarked coldly. She separated her twin buster rifle and fired simultaneously at the transport cargos before they reached the Earth's atmosphere and the Suits that were pursuing her. Still, more transport cargos were deployed and more Suits kept on coming after her. She was beginning to tire out. Deflecting blasts took more energy than firing or fighting. 

_Always remember that you and the HAVOC are one and the same. Your strength is his strength, his pain is your pain._

Little by little, she could feel the blasts breaking through her planetary defensors. She put back the buster rifles together, kept them and lunged both her dragon fangs and fired her flamethrowers. She fired her vulcans and machine cannons too. Then she sent some of her planetary defensors to electrocute the other Suits. She didn't have the time to 'play' with them. She got to finish this, fast. 

_Do what you feel is the right thing to do, Reina. Even if ordered otherwise. _

At this rate, she would soon tire out and fail in her mission. Her brother and her friends couldn't possibly deal with more enemies. She had to come up with a plan, and there was only one thing she could think of. Coming to a decision, she fired her twin buster rifle. MO-II exploded like a ball of fire, destroying all the MS in its vicinity. 

When the glare was gone, all that was left was bits and pieces of scrap metal floating around. Sighing, she muttered, "Mission complete." 

Suddenly, she sensed something approaching from behind. She turned around and aimed her twin buster rifle at the 8 Serpent Suits accompanying a shuttle and a transport cargo headed towards her. 

"Hey, Princess, don't get too trigger-happy. It's just us," Duo said in the commlink. 

"We came here to lend you a hand. I guess we're too late seeing that you already took care of everything," Zechs added. 

Reina smiled and lowered her weapon. "Thanks anyways." Then her voice grew sad. "Lady Une, Athena, I'm sorry if I destroyed MO-II. I wasn't ordered to destroy it but it's the only thing I could think of at the moment to stop them from sending troops to Earth." 

"Don't worry about a thing, Reina. You did what you had to do. The Preventers can always find another space outpost," Lady Une told her. 

"I could donate one of my resource satellites to the Preventers to be their new space outpost," Quatre interjected. 

"Thanks, Quatre. See, Reina, there's no problem," Lady Une said. 

From the transport cargo, Athena said, "You did well, Reina. Now, come aboard the shuttle so you can rest for a while. I know you're tired. And you're cousins are waiting for you inside." 

Reina complied. Toby opened the door to the shuttle's docking bay and the HAVOC went in. Zechs, Trowa, Wufei, Quatre, Duo, Lady Une, Hilde and Noin, on the other hand went aboard the transport cargo where Sally, Midii, Cathy and Dorothy were waiting for them. Before blasting off, Athena said, "Get some rest and be ready. We'll be arriving on Earth shortly." 

  
  
  



	7. The battlefield of sorrow Part II

Gundam Legacy Chapter 7   
  
**Disclaimer: **AGGGHHH! Do I really need to say it over and over again?   
  
I originally intended to write the whole battle scene in only one chapter but it's just too long so I broke it off. Sorry if I left you hanging the last time. For comments, suggestions, flames or reviews, you can email me at raizenheero@aol.com  
  
  


**Gundam Legacy**   
by Neesah 

  
  


**Chapter 7: The battlefield of sorrow Part II**

  
  
  


Wing Zero, Neo-Deathscythe, Neo-Heavyarms, Neo-Sandrock, Neo-Altron and Neo-Tallgeese attacked the 1st checkpoint perimeter in 6 different sectors. They methodically destroyed one Suit after the other, not even bothering to look back at the wreckage they created nor talk to each other. They knew that they had to keep all distractions at bay in order to finish this mission as quickly as possible. They had all the time to feel guilty later, if they managed to successfully pull this off. 

The 6 of them finished destroying all the Suits in their respective sectors. The whole 1st checkpoint perimeter, consisting of more or less 300 Suits, was completely wiped out in a matter of minutes. They were ready to move-in to the 2nd checkpoint perimeter when…

  
  


Deity jumped back, making Deathscythe's buster shield miss her by just a quarter of an inch. 

"Deity. It's been a while," Sean greeted in the commlink as he fired his vulcans. 

Deity fired back. "Sean! Stop this madness!" 

Deathscythe charged with his twin beam scythe, Deity blocking it with her own. "I'm sorry, Deity. I don't have the power to stop this." 

They pulled apart. "So I guess I have no choice but to fight you then," Deity said gravely. 

"Right," Sean answered before both of them charged at each other.

  
  


Trion did an acrobatic flip to dodge the micromissiles fired at him by Heavyarms. He then fired his machine cannons. 

"Nice move, Trion," Dean commented, dodging Trion's attacks and firing Heavyarms' gattling cannon. "And what a nice Gundam you got there. Our Gundams really look alot alike. But I know for a fact that the original is always the best." 

"Just like the original pilot is always the best. Like my father," Trion replied. Afterwards, he asked, "Dean, do we really have to do this?" 

"I'm afraid so," Dean answered, as both of them fired their double gattling guns.

  
  


Kai used his shield flash to deflect Sandrock's missiles. "Ren, stop this. I don't want to fight you." 

"Neither do I," Ren said, firing more missiles. Kai stood his ground and used his shield to protect himself. "But you know that we have to. This is one thing that couldn't be resolved by talking or diplomacy, Kai. You know that. You have the responsibility of taking back the power we stole, whereas I have the responsibility to prevent you from doing so. And we both know that we take our responsibilities very seriously. " 

Kai sighed in defeat. He knew that Ren was right. He took out his heat shotels and attacked Sandrock.

  
  


Lee quickly moved out of the way of two dragon fangs. "The last time I checked we're friends," he told Colin, firing his vulcans. 

Altron dodged. "We **are** friends, Lee. But my loyalty is, first and foremost, to my family. Just like I know that your loyalty to your family also comes first," Lee remarked. 

"I understand," Lee replied. The two Suits continued fighting.

  
  


Rhys' heat rod collided with Tallgeese's heat rod in midair, causing sparks to fly. "Miles, why are you doing this?" 

"Because I was ordered to do so," Miles answered, firing his vulcans. 

Rhys protected himself with his vulcan shield. "Don't you know that what Raidon is ordering you to do is wrong? Open your eyes, Miles. It's not yet too late." 

"You don't understand. The General is like a father to us. He might be wrong but we'll continue to stick by his side and follow him. I know that you'll do the same with your dad." 

Rhys understood what he meant. Both of them took out their beam sabers and lunged at each other.

  
  


Jiiro sensed that Qintaro was flying towards him, even if Stygma was still far away. Zero told him so. He blasted off, deciding to meet him half-way. Both Stygma and Wing Zero stopped within a few meters away from each other. It really was a sight to behold. Wing Zero looked majestic, its wings unfurled like an angel. Stygma stood majestically as well, though its red coloring, the cross rifle attached on its back and its heat rod (which looked more like a tail) made it more sinister-looking, almost like the devil. To those who had seen the last battle between Wing Zero and Epyon during the Eve Wars, this would surely come as some sort of deja vu. 

"Jiiro," Qintaro said as a form of a greeting. 

"Qintaro," Jiiro acknowledged. No other words were necessary. Zero and Stygma already told them what they had to do and why. All what was left was to defeat the enemy. 

So without further ado, they started battling.

  
  


************************************************

  
  


Raidon was momentarily taken aback by what was happening. He knew that Heero would attack, but not this soon. And not with that kind of army. "Where on Earth did Heero Yuy get those Gundams?! And the people to pilot them?!" Raidon asked, exasperated. His gaze settled on Relena as he thought things over. It was possible that within these past 20 years, Heero and the other Gundam Pilots had built new Gundams. That would explain why Heero had in his possession 6 Gundams. But what about the pilots? Heero couldn't just ask anybody to become Gundam Pilots. No one in their right minds would willingly go against a much stronger army, unless they were as determined, strong-willed and as (everyone phrased it) 'noble and pure' as Heero Yuy, Duo Maxwell, Trowa Barton, Quatre Winner and Wufei Chang were when they battled OZ. Then again… 

"You have children, haven't you, Miss Relena?" Raidon asked in a pleasant voice. 

"Yes. Twins. A boy and a girl," she carefully replied. 

"How old are they?" 

"15." 

"And I suppose your daughter looks just like you, hmm?" 

"Everybody who knows us say so." 

"And how old are the other pilots' firstborns?" 

Relena carefully studied him. She didn't like where this interrogation was headed. "Why are you asking me all these questions? As I can remember, you have the pilots and their families in your custody so you should know. And didn't you make a background check on everyone first before proceeding with this operation?" 

Raidon shrugged. "To tell you the truth, I didn't. So just humor me by telling how old they are. There's no harm in answering my question now, is there?" 

Relena sighed. "Deity Maxwell is 15. Trion Barton and Lee Fei Chang are 14. Kai Dotre Winner is 16. And Rhys Illiard Peacecraft is 18." 

"Hmm. Same ages as my kids. They're in highschool, right?" 

Relena didn't answer him and instead said, "Speaking of your kids, I want to know how could you be so heartless as to turn those boys into hardened soldiers. You're a soldier yourself, are you not, so you know only too well that with every death they cause, a part of them also dies. Haven't you noticed the pain in their eyes? Can't you stop thinking of yourself for a moment and start thinking of what your kids want and need?" 

"What are you talking about? They all became soldiers in their own volition. Dean, Miles, Ren and Colin told me themselves after I took them in and adopted them. Sean too. And Qintaro wanted to become a soldier just like me, he told me so himself when he was 7." 

"Don't you think that maybe Qintaro was just trying to win your affection? All 7-yr olds worship their Dads and want to become just like them. As for the other kids, they might just want to please you, feeling indebted to you for adopting them. And they were just kids then. Do you honestly think that they knew what they were getting themselves into? They might be dazzled by the mere idea of becoming a soldier, seeing you and all. And they probably will do anything you ask them, even jump off a cliff if you tell them to. Can't you see that in satisfying your greed for power, you sacrificed those kids' souls and innocence?" 

Raidon banged his hands on his desk and stood up, his eyes blazing angrily at Relena. "You know nothing of me or my sons so don't presume to lecture me on how I'm supposed to raise them. I raised them well. I'm proud of what they become. They're strong and skillful. And now, they are the rulers of the Earth Sphere. I did this not only for myself but also for them. I'll die in peace knowing that I have given them everything, that I made them the most influential and powerful people in the ESUN. And just for the record, I wouldn't order them to jump off a cliff." Raidon calmed himself and sat down again. "I think it's very hypocritical of you to accuse me of being heartless in training my kids to become soldiers and Gundam Pilots when you and your friends did the same to your kids." 

Relena paled. "What are you talking about?" 

"Do you mistake me for a fool as to not discover that the Gundams that are currently battling with **my** Gundams are being piloted by your kids? The ones whom I failed to capture? And that those kids and my kids are all friends?" 

Relena remained looking at him defiantly. 

Raidon chuckled. "You want to ask me how I've known, right? It's very simple, actually. When I asked the kids why Qintaro was so enamored by you, they said that you reminded him of someone, a close friend. Then I remembered seeing a picture from Qintaro's room showing all their friends from RECON. There was this girl who looked just like you, except for the eyes and hair. Then Qintaro pointed to his bestfriend, a boy that looked vaguely familiar, who was supposedly that girl's twin brother. The other kids there also looked familiar, as if I've seen them somewhere before. Only now did it cross my mind that they are the Gundam Pilots' kids. It all makes perfect sense. They were in RECON so I wasn't able to capture them. My kids probably have no clue about their friends' true identities since there are no surnames in RECON." 

"Our kids were trained to protect, not to destroy. They were trained in case someone disrupts the peace and the Gundams are needed again. We felt bad about it but we had to, unlike you who trained your kids for the sole purpose of conquest and domination! I guess Heero and the rest were right to have prepared for this day," Relena told him. "Aren't you bothered, even a bit, knowing that our kids, who are all friends, are battling each other out there?" 

"Why would I be bothered? My sons are trained soldiers. Friends or no friends, they know what they have to do. And I assure you that they'll win." 

Their conversation was interrupted by loud explosions coming from outside. They turned to look at the window and saw Wing Zero and Stygma engaged in a fierce battle near the Palace. 

Raidon looked at Relena, amused. "Does your husband honestly think that he'll defeat me and rescue you? He might have those Gundams but they'll never get near the Palace. They have to get pass my Gundams first then get through the 2nd checkpoint perimeter. And as it stands, that's very unlikely to happen. There are also more reinforcements on their way. How in the world will they defeat such a vast army? They might be well trained but there's always a limit to what they could do. Even the Perfect Soldier has his breaking point. So you see, this attack is pointless. Definitely just a waste of time, lives and vital military artillery. But at least you know how much he loves you. He'll rescue you even at the expense of the colonies." 

If Relena was a person who knew how to smirk, she already did so. Apparently, Raidon didn't know Heero that well. Heero wouldn't sacrifice peace nor the colonies for anything or anyone --- even for her. That only meant that Heero had something up his sleeve. 

"What's taking those back-up troops so long? I want to end this right now," Raidon muttered, contacting the Dais Rogue HQ. 

"Capt. Myers here." 

Raidon frowned. "Why is the transmission audio only, Capt?" 

"Umm, there's something wrong with the satellite feed, sir," Capt. Myers replied, somewhat nervously. 

"Hn. Where are the reinforcements? I've been waiting for them." 

"I, uhh, already dispatched them, sir. They're on their way." 

"Good. Over and out." He then tried to contact MO-II. But somehow, the transmission always bounced back, as if its destination wasn't there at all. _Why now of all times do the satellite feed chose to have problems? _ No matter, things were still under control. 

He looked at the window again just in time to see a transport cargo and a shuttle fast approaching. "Finally," he remarked. 9 Serpent Suits and 2 armed shuttles came out of the transport cargo. But there was something wrong about this whole picture. It certainly looked like the transport cargo was heading straight in a collision course towards the 2nd checkpoint perimeter. 

"What the ---" He wasn't able to finish his sentence when the transport cargo exploded near the Palace, destroying many Suits within its proximity. 

The newly arrived 'reinforcements' then started attacking the Suits that were defending the Palace. The other shuttle flew away, but before doing so, something black emerged from it. Raidon and Relena walked to the window, wanting to take a closer look. And upon careful inspection, they saw what that black thing really was. 

"THE HAVOC?!!!" they exclaimed in unison

  
  


************************************************

  
  


The battling Gundams stopped on their tracks and looked at the 9 Serpent Suits and 2 armed shuttles that emerged from the transport cargo. 

"The cavalry is here!" Duo announced in the commlink. 

Suddenly, an explosion was heard as the transport cargo blew up upon colliding with the Serpent Suits surrounding the Palace. 

"We're here to help you, kids," Quatre said. 

"Right," Trowa, Wufei and Zechs added. 

"Dad!" Deity, Trion, Lee, Kai and Rhys exclaimed. 

"Hey, don't forget about us," Noin remarked. 

"We're also here to help," Hilde amended. 

"Us too," Sally, Midii, Dorothy and Cathy chorused from the armed shuttles. 

"Well, let's start this show on the road," Lady Une suggested. 

"Hn," Athena replied as they all started attacking the 2nd checkpoint perimeter. 

Jiiro, Deity, Trion, Lee, Rhys and Kai smiled in spite of themselves. Things were proceeding as planned. Athena managed to free their families from the base, which implied that she was able to disengage the main array. They also hadn't seen any reinforcements coming from MO-II and the Preventers Base, leading to the conclusion that Reina and the 15 Sanc Kingdom guards were successful in their missions. ¾ of the mission had already been completed. All that was left was for them to take back the Palace. And they would be damned if they would fail in this one. 

Then they saw a black Gundam emerged from the other shuttle before the shuttle flew off in the opposite direction. The Gundam also started attacking the 2nd checkpoint perimeter. 

Jiiro and the others weren't surprised to see the HAVOC. In fact, they were relieved to see Reina unharmed. But it was a different case with Dean, Miles, Ren, Sean, Colin and Qintaro. They were utterly shocked. Well, the HAVOC always had that effect on people. 

"I've seen that Gundam before… in the files I think," Colin stated in his commlink. 

"It can't be.. It's the HAVOC!" Sean exclaimed. 

Remembering what he knew about the HAVOC, Ren said, "But it supposed to have been destroyed 20 years ago!" 

"I thought only one person has the ability to rebuild it," Dean voiced out. 

"And only one person can pilot it too," Miles added. "So they were able to rebuild the HAVOC. But who's piloting it?" 

Stygma whispered something to Qintaro. "Reina," he muttered. 

"Reina?!" the 5 kids asked in unison. They should have known. With how strong Reina was, it only followed that she would also have her own Gundam. Recovering from their initial shock, they continued their interrupted battle.

  
  


************************************************

  
  


Raidon smirked and turned his head to the right to regard his companion. "Well, well. Heero Yuy is more resourceful than I thought. Not only did he get hold of the HAVOC, he also found someone who can pilot it. But his ingenuity and resourcefulness wouldn't matter once my main array finished blasting all the colonies to oblivion. The souls of millions will lie heavily on both your souls." 

"I don't think so," a voice said from the doorway. 

In a flash, Raidon grabbed Relena, whirled around and aimed his gun at the source of the voice. Clad in black jeans and black tank top, Heero pointed his own gun at Raidon, carefully stepping inside the room. 

"Heero," Relena breathed, relieved to see her husband. He had come back for her, just like he promised. Then her eyes widened as realization dawned on her. If Heero was here, Jiiro must be piloting Wing Zero. And if the other kids were piloting the other 5 Gundams that only meant that HAVOC's pilot was… 

Their gazes met and Heero nodded at her, understanding her silent question. He turned his attention back to Raidon, his eyes hard and calculating. Relena's life was in that psycho's hands. He couldn't afford to make a single mistake. 

"So, you left the fighting to your kids. And here's your wife, reprimanding me for turning my kids into soldiers when you did the same to yours. Talk about hypocrisy," Raidon taunted. 

Heero inwardly flinched though his face remained blank. He knew that Raidon was right --- they did the same to their kids. They didn't want to, but they did it all the same. It was the hardest decision they had ever made. Sacrifices had to be made in order to ensure peace and it was just their luck to always be the ones who had to sacrifice their lives, souls and innocence for peace. And now, their children and their children's children would have to make and live with those sacrifices as well. "Let go of Relena." 

Amusement was written on Raidon's face when he answered, "I don't think you're in the position to make any demands. I'm the one who has the upperhand here." 

"I said let go of my wife." 

"You're a cocky one, aren't you?" Raidon commented with a grin. "Barging in here, all alone, knowing too well that the place is heavily guarded and that I have your wife and the colonies at my mercy. I'm expecting more from **the** Perfect Soldier. Are you sure you're still him? Or maybe you're losing your touch, mellowing down in your old age?" He pressed the gun to Relena's head while dragging her to the desk. "Dial the number to the security room here. I know you know it," he ordered her. Relena looked at Heero first. Seeing Heero's assent, she made the call. 

They heard the vidphone ringing from the other end, but no one answered. Raidon decided to talk anyways, hoping that his voice would frighten the soldiers stationed there in answering the call. "Torres! Do you copy? We have an intruder. Send men here at the office ASAP." Still no answer. 

It was Heero's turn to smirk. "I don't think your soldiers can be of any use to you now." 

Raidon tried to conceal his shock at Heero's statement by glaring at him defiantly. "I don't believe that you killed them all." 

"I didn't. I only killed some of them, those whom had given me no choice. As for the rest, I just made sure that they wouldn't be able to rush to your aid. It's over, Raidon." 

"I beg to differ. It's far from over. My troops outside are standing there ground. We have yet to see who'll be the victor," Raidon replied. "And I want to see the look in your face when you see your precious colonies be reduced to scrap metal." He urged Relena to get the TV remote on top of the desk and turn the TV on. 

The TV flickered on, showing the morning news. "We have gathered reports that the Presidential Palace is, once again, being attacked by 6, no 7 Gundams, which we believe are all being led by Miss Relena's husband. But do not fear. Contrary to President Raidon Langley's threat, the colonies are safe. Not one had been destroyed. Although there were reports that MO-II was destroyed after a fierce battle there. And there are also reports that 15 Serpent Suits had taken over the Dais Rogue HQ in the Sanc Kingdom. We don't know how that was possible but…" Raidon blasted the TV to pieces. 

"What the hell is going on?!" Raidon yelled. He had to contact his base. He turned to Relena and ordered, "Dial the number written on the paper beside the vidphone. Now!" 

Relena punched in Buena Park's number. No answer. "Try again!" Raidon yelled. Relena did what she was told. But still there was no answer. 

Raidon gripped his gun tightly his knuckles almost turned white. He pressed the gun closer to Relena's temple as he looked at Heero with loathing. He knew that Heero caused all this though he didn't know how he did it. _So I was wrong. He still hasn't lost his touch, _ he thought gravely. 

Heero slowly inched closer, Raidon backing away, holding Relena in front of him as a shield. He stopped when he felt that his back was now pressed against the window. "As I said earlier, it's over," Heero told him evenly.

  
  


************************************************

  
  


Trowa blasted three Serpent Suits with his bazooka. "This is proving to be one tough workout." 

"You said it, Trowa. There's just too many of them," Hilde said, destroying the Suit in front of her. 

The 2 armed shuttles hovered above them and continued firing at the enemy Suits. "We might be outnumbered but we already destroyed half of their forces," Sally remarked as she maneuvered the shuttle to dodge the blasts. 

"We really make one hell of a team, Sally," Dorothy said, firing the shuttle's beam cannons. 

"We're one great team too, aren't we, sis?" Cathy asked Midii. 

"Yup. That will teach those buffoons not to mess with us," Midii replied as she made their shuttle dive near the Suits while Cathy launched the missiles. 

Lady Une fired her double gattling gun. "If only the Maganacs are here, we could finish this faster." 

"I know. But even if they kept their Suits, most of the remaining Maganacs are too old to fight," Quatre said. Though old, he was certain that if he asked them, they would gladly help. But he didn't. They had done so much for him already, it was time that he fight his own battle and let them continue living their lives in peace. Like the rest of the citizens of the ESUN, when the Maganacs saw that peace was finally here to stay, they willingly discarded their Suits and tried to live normal, peaceful lives. And throughout the years, their ranks diminished, only about half of them were left. Quatre knew Heero well enough to know why he hadn't asked the remaining Maganacs for help. Heero believed that Quatre was the only person who had the right to order the Maganacs to battle. And though Kai could be a substitute for Quatre --- he was their Master Quatre's son afterall, Heero still found it inappropriate. 

"At least we got Reina and the HAVOC on our side," Zechs voiced out. HAVOC had destroyed a big bulk of the enemy Suits. 

Duo fired some missiles. "Damn! I need to finish this fast. I still have a score to settle with Raidon." 

Wufei dodged a blast and fired his beam cannon. "Me too. I want to teach that psycho a lesson he'll never forget." 

"Then go. We'll cover for you," Athena suggested. 

"Are you nuts? There are still more or less 150 Suits remaining," Duo commented. 

"Athena is right. Leave the fighting to us women. We can handle it. I really would like to give Raidon a piece of my mind too but we'll let you guys do that for us," Noin said. 

"Don't worry about us. I'll take care of everything," Reina assured them. 

"If you insist. Goodluck," Trowa remarked before flying towards the Palace roof. 

"Be careful, ladies," Quatre said as he, Zechs, Duo and Wufei blasted their way towards the Palace.

  
  


************************************************

  
  


Raidon chuckled evilly. "And as I also said earlier, this battle is far from over. It's unlike you to make unfounded assumptions. Are you forgetting something? I still have your wife. And I have a gun aimed at her head." As if to prove his point, he held Relena tighter and pressed the gun against her temple even more. Relena didn't flinch a bit. She continued looking at Heero, her eyes unafraid. It was like she was telling him, _ Do what you have to do. Don't think about me._ "So if you value your wife's life, don't come any closer or I swear I'm going to blow her brains off." 

Heero's face remained expressionless but he stopped on his tracks, his gun still aimed at Raidon. He locked gazes with Relena, as if silently communicating with her. He saw her bit her lip, telling him that she understood. Raidon smirked. "Good. Now tell me, why did you barge in here all alone, and through the door too, no less? Do you think that you can take me out singlehandedly? Or you're just becoming more and more stupid as you grow older?" 

"I wanted to give you the chance to do the right thing," Heero replied, alternately shifting his glance between Raidon and Relena. He was directly in front of them, only a few feet away. If only he could make a clear shot… 

"You mean surrender? Never! You won't take me alive, if that's what you're thinking. I rather die or kill myself than surrender to you!" he spat out. "Seeing that I wouldn't do the **right** thing, I want to know how you're planning to defeat me now," Raidon sneered. 

"Simple. We'll gang up on you," Zechs answered. Raidon turned his head to the left and saw Zechs and Duo standing by the bookshelf, their guns drawn. 

"Missed us, Raidon, pal, hmm?" Duo added, his violet eyes glinting. 

Raidon was shocked. "How--- Where---" 

"The Presidential Palace had hidden passageways leading to and from the President's office. So in case of an attack, the President can escape safely," Quatre explained in a curt tone. 

Raidon looked to his right and saw Quatre and Wufei standing by the fireplace, both aiming their guns at him. 

"Why, Raidon, you don't know the hidden passageways in your own office? And you've been President for days. Tsk, tsk, tsk, the injustice of it all," Wufei taunted. 

Raidon couldn't believe what was happening. He was so busy predicting Heero's moves that he didn't hear Zechs, Duo, Quatre and Wufei came in from the secret passageways. Well, he really didn't know where the hidden passageways were but he should have heard them! 

"Can't guess where we came from huh, buddy? And here I thought you're a genius. Guess, I'm wrong," Duo remarked. 

"Let my sister go, Raidon. And this will be over." 

"And don't count on your **vast armada** that much. The Gundams you stole from us will be defeated by our kids soon," Wufei told him. 

"Also, Athena, Reina and our wives are currently destroying the last of your defenses. It's only a matter of time before they get through and retake the Palace," Quatre amended. Relena's eyes widened when she heard Athena's name. 

"Athena! She's alive?" Raidon then shook his head. "You Gundam Pilots really do have nine lives. No matter. Gang up on me all you want, but I'll never surrender. And if I'll lose, I'll take Relena with me." 

He was about to pull the trigger when something came crashing through the window, knocking the gun from his hand and sending him and Relena to the floor, bits of broken glass falling on them. It was Trowa. And before Raidon could react, Trowa jumped to his feet, helped Relena up and took her to Heero. The 6 men now had Raidon surrounded. He slowly stood up. 

Trowa pointed his gun at him. "Don't make this harder on everyone, Raidon. Surrender now." 

Heero wrapped his left arm protectively around Relena's waist, his right hand still aiming at Raidon. "And this time, it's officially over." 

Raidon glared at them defiantly, his face and hands bloody due to the broken glass. "Never!" he yelled before jumping out the window.

  
  


************************************************

  
  


Qintaro halted his attack on Wing Zero and turned his head just in time to see his father jumped from his office on the 3rd floor. "FATHER! NO!" he yelled. He immediately flew towards the Palace.

Sean, Dean, Ren, Miles and Colin heard Qintaro's yell in the commlink so they broke off from their fights and also flew towards the Palace, their respective rivals following them. They saw that the window in the President's office was shattered and there were 7 people peering down at something below them. They landed near Stygma and saw Raidon's body sprawled on the ground, bloodied and broken, his arms, legs and necks set at an unusual angle. 

"Uncle, no…" Sean whispered as tears began to fall from his face. 

"The General… I can't believe it…" Colin muttered, his own tears falling on his face. 

Miles, Ren and Dean were silently crying inside their Suits too. Deity, Lee, Trion, Kai and Rhys respected their friends' grief and remained silent. 

"There's no use fighting anymore. He's gone," Miles said. 

"Yeah. I think we should all surrender now. It'll be pointless to continue," Ren agreed. 

"What do you say, Qintaro? What should we do now?" Dean asked. 

They all waited for Qintaro's response. Inside his Suit, Qintaro wasn't crying at all. He was just staring at his father's corpse, but it seemed like he was listening to someone, having a silent conversation with whoever it was in his mind. He looked up and saw Wing Zero above them. "Yes, Stygma, I understand," he muttered. In his commlink, he said, "Do what you want to do. Surrender if you like. It doesn't matter to me." 

"You're second-in-command remember? Only an order from you will be valid," Miles reminded him. 

"Then spread the word that I'm ordering everyone to surrender." 

"Consider it done, sir," Ren answered, opening a channel to every Suit within a 5 mile radius. 

The battle in the 2nd checkpoint perimeter immediately halted upon hearing Ren's transmission. Lady Une and the rest began rounding up the pilots. 

"I guess it's time for us to surrender too, huh," Dean remarked. He opened the cockpit and went out of Heavyarms. Miles, Colin, Sean and Ren did the same. Rhys, Kai, Lee, Trion and Deity also went out of their Gundams and approached their friends. 

They looked at each other with slight apprehension. "Our condolences for the death of your General, the one whom you regard as your father," Rhys told them. 

"Thanks. We appreciate it," Miles answered. Silence again. 

"I'm glad that the battle is over though. That we don't have to fight each other anymore," Kai remarked. 

"Me too," Ren answered. 

"I think I speak for everyone when I say that we are all relieved that it's over," Colin said. Everyone nodded then looked at Stygma. Qintaro still hadn't come out of his Gundam. And it seemed like he was staring at Wing Zero hovering above them. 

"Wait a sec," Sean said before climbing back to Deathscythe. "Hey, Qintaro, when are you coming out of there?" he asked in the commlink. 

As a response, Stygma flew off and collided with Wing Zero full force. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Sean yelled. No answer. The 2 Gundams continued fighting. "Damn! He shut me off." He jumped out of Deathscythe. 

"Sean, what happened? What has gotten into Qintaro?" Deity asked. 

"I don't know. I think he's gone wacko, with Uncles's death and the Zero system in his brain." 

"We've got to knock some sense into his head then," Dean said. 

"Jiiro hasn't shown any indication of backing down either," Lee pointed out. 

"So let's go and stop those two from killing each other," Trion suggested. 

The 10 kids climbed back to their Suits and flew towards where Wing Zero and Stygma were fighting. 

  
  


************************************************

  
  


Recovering from the impact of Stygma colliding into him, Wing Zero pulled away. Stygma whipped out his heat rod and tried to hit him. Wing Zero used his shield to protect himself. 

"Raidon is dead and all your troops already surrendered. Why are we still fighting?" Jiiro asked. 

"Because I want to." 

"Why?" Qintaro didn't answer. He just continued on attacking him. The cockpit lit up as Jiiro felt Zero answering his question. 

"I'm so sorry, Qintaro. I didn't know... My condolences," he told him earnestly. 

"Save your pity. I don't need them. Just fight me, Jiiro," Qintaro said, lunging at him with his beam saber. 

Jiiro fended it off with his own beam saber. Neither of them would budge so they jumped apart. They were going to lunge at each other again when 10 Suits appeared between them, preventing them to do so. Sean, Miles, Ren, Dean and Colin faced Stygma, behind them, Lee, Trion, Deity, Rhys and Kai faced Wing Zero. 

"What are you doing here? This isn't your fight. Get out of my way," Qintaro said in the commlink. 

"Have you gone insane? I know that Uncle died and we're all grieving but fighting Jiiro won't bring him back. Nothing you do can ever bring him back," Sean told him. 

"You don't understand anything. So just leave me alone." 

"Why are you doing this Qintaro? What are you trying to accomplish?" Dean asked. 

"I don't have to explain myself. It doesn't concern you." 

"Come now, Qintaro. Let us help you. We've got to stick together and face this grief and ordeal together. We might have lost the General but we're still one family," Ren said. 

A tear threatened to fall down Qintaro's eyes but he hastily blinked it back. He was not going to cry. He would finish this, come hell or highwater. He had to. "Leave. Me Alone," he growled. 

"We're not going to leave you alone unless you stop this madness, Qintaro," Miles told him. 

"Don't try my patience. I'll force you to get the hell out of my way if I have to." 

"Then give us your best shot coz we're not moving an inch," Colin said. 

"If you insist." In a flash, Stygma managed to distance himself from the 5 Suits while the cross rifle attached on its back moved clockwise, making it looked like an X now instead of a cross. The upper part of the X bent over, now forming two cannons mounted on top of each of Stygma's shoulders. The same happened to the lower part of the X, forming into 2 cannons on the side of each of Stygma's legs.

  
  


"The war is over, Jiiro. We've won. Why are you still fighting Qintaro?" Deity asked. 

"Because he's still fighting me. Anyone who fights me and endangers my life is my enemy. And I have to fight and defeat all my enemies." 

"Stop talking like a Zero-enhanced junkie, Jiiro. Qintaro just lost his father, his purpose. It's understandable that he's acting a little crazy right now," Rhys told him. 

"Try to help him get a grip of himself, Jiiro. Help him get through his grief. You're his bestfriend, are you not? If we can't get through to him, you certainly can," Kai added. 

Jiiro would have answered back but Zero told him that something was wrong. He looked at Stygma and saw it fly away, the cross rifle at its back moving. "Qintaro, no!" he yelled. But Stygma already fired at the 5 Suits in front of him. Though the Gundams weren't hit in a critical area, the blasts not being in full strength, they were enough to catch Ren, Colin, Dean, Sean and Miles unaware and send them plummeting downwards. 

The 5 remaining Gundams faced Stygma. "Now I know that you've completely gone bananas," Lee commented. 

"Why did you fire at your own friends? Your own brothers?" Trion asked. 

"They were in my way. Just like the rest of you," Qintaro answered. And before Jiiro could do anything, Qintaro fired at the 5 Neo Suits, also making them plummet to the ground. "I've blasted all of our friends, Jiiro. What are you going to do about it?" 

"I've never seen you like this before. What's gotten into you? Why are you doing this?" 

"Stop asking stupid questions and just fight me," Qintaro replied, lunging at him. 

_…Qintaro just lost his father, his purpose. It's understandable that he's acting a little crazy right now._

Jiiro jumped back. "Is this your way of dealing with your grief?" 

"Maybe. What is it to you?" 

_Try to help him get a grip of himself, Jiiro. Help him get through his grief. You're his bestfriend, are you not? If we can't get through to him, you certainly can._

"I'm your bestfriend, remember? I want to help you. Tell me how to help you, Qintaro," Jiiro said, slightly pleading. 

"Fight me. That's the only way you can help me." 

Jiiro was getting exasperated. Their conversation was getting nowhere. "What if I don't?" 

"Then I'll force you to fight me. Just like I forced all of them out of my way." Stygma's X rifle moved again. The 2 cannons placed on the side of its legs moved up, combining with the cannons mounted on the shoulders, forming two bigger cannons. 

Wing Zero didn't move. Qintaro fired at him, but the two beams went pass the sides of Wing Zero's head, not making any contact. Jiiro smiled. He knew that Qintaro would intentionally miss him. "I know that you don't really want to hurt anyone, Qintaro. You could have destroyed the other Suits, you have the means to do so. But you didn't. You just 'forced them out of your way'. And you could have hit me. So what's this all about? If you want to release some steam, let's get out of our Suits and do some combat exercises. Or go somewhere to talk." 

"No! I want to fight here! I want to settle this once and for all! It was just a warning shot, Jiiro. I wouldn't miss this time." Qintaro fired at him again but Wing Zero still didn't move. If getting himself hit was the only thing that could knock sense into Qintaro, or at least satisfy him, so be it. Jiiro braced himself for the impact but it never came. His eyes widened when he saw the HAVOC standing between him and Stygma. HAVOC had deflected the blast for him. 

"Reina!" Jiiro and Qintaro exclaimed. They saw HAVOC staggering, almost as if it was having a hard time keeping itself stand upright. 

Reina's whole body was aching. She had been battling all morning and she was exhausted. Deflecting that blast took the last of her strength. She could feel her body get heavier, the darkness beckoning her. She shook her head and tried to get a grip on herself. Even piloting the HAVOC was a chore now. 

"Reina, are you alright?" Jiiro asked his sister, his concern evident. He knew that piloting the HAVOC must be taking a toll on her, especially now that she decided to become heroic and stupid to shield him from that blast. 

"I'm fine," Reina lied. " It's just a tiring day." 

"Reina, I ---" Qintaro didn't finish his sentence. 

Reina smiled. "It's ok, Qintaro." Then in a soft but determined voice she added, "Qintaro, Niichan, please stop this meaningless battle. If you won't do it for yourselves, can you at least do it for me?" 

Qintaro and Jiiro were speechless. Finally, Qintaro said, "You don't understand," then flew off towards the Palace. Jiiro and Reina followed him. 

Stygma stopped near the window where Relena, Heero, Duo, Trowa, Quatre, Zechs and Wufei were. Stygma aimed his cannons at them. "Jiiro, I like your mom and all but I swear I'm going to destroy the Palace and kill your mom, dad and the other pilots if you don't stop me now." 

"Qintaro---" Reina began to say but Jiiro cut her off. "I'll handle this, Reina." Jiiro looked at Stygma. There was something about this situation that perplexed him. It was like he was missing an important clue. "This is our fight, Qintaro. Don't include my parents and my uncles here." 

"The lives of those dearest to you are at stake here, dammit!" Qintaro cried out, almost in desperation. "Do something! Stop me!" 

Jiiro couldn't make heads or tails of everything, but he knew one thing --- he had to stop Qintaro from making good his threat. He was about to aim his twin buster rifle at Stygma when he received a transmission. "Jiiro, son, don't fire at Qintaro," Relena told him. 

"Kaasan? Why?" 

"Qintaro will never hurt me. I'm certain of it." 

"But he said so himself…" 

"Look deep in your heart. If you really are his bestfriend, you'll know that I'm right." 

Jiiro lowered his weapon. His mom was right. "How can I stop you from doing something that I know you really have no intention of doing? This is sheer madness, Qintaro. I'm getting tired of this game." 

Reina inched closer to Stygma. "Qintaro, stop this now. Let us help you." 

"Sorry, Reina. But only Jiiro can help me," Stygma then flew towards her and grabbed HAVOC by the arm, his cannons aimed at her. "You better change your mind fast, Jiiro. I can kill Reina in an instant. I **will** kill her if you don't act now and stop me. I know that even with her planetary defensors, she wouldn't survive deflecting another shot, seeing that she's too exhausted. Now, choose. Me or Reina?" 

"This is getting more ridiculous, Qintaro. If you don't have the guts to kill my mother, whom you have just known for a couple of days, how can you convince me that you could possibly kill Reina? You've been in love with her since the first time we've all met!" 

"You don't believe I can hurt her? Then see for yourself." Stygma used his heat rod to hit HAVOC on the leg. Reina cried out in pain, her cries traveling through the commlink. 

Jiiro was beginning to get angry. Qintaro was acting like a spoiled child who would do anything to get his way. "Are you really taunting me, Qintaro? You know that I hate being taunted, that I felt like killing someone when I'm angry. And hurting those whom I care for is a surefire thing to make me angry. Do you really want to die?" he asked in a cold voice. Then it hit him. "That's it. You want to die, don't you, Qintaro? That's why you're doing all of this, that's why you're making me angry. You wouldn't have hurt Reina otherwise. You want to die because you're father is dead," he said softly. Jiiro's voice then hardened. "And you're not brave enough to kill yourself so you want me to do it for you. That's really pathetic, Qintaro. Stop acting like a coward and face your grief like a man!" 

"I don't care if you see me as a coward! I just can't stand this… pain. I failed him. I'm the best soldier in his army, I even mastered the Zero system but I still couldn't save him! If you value your sister's life then kill me!" Qintaro hit HAVOC with his heat rod again. 

Jiiro was at lost on what to do. He was still certain that Qintaro wouldn't kill Reina, but Qintaro would hurt her enough for him to want to kill his bestfriend. And Qintaro wanted Jiiro to kill him. He knew he had to stop him, but how? Did he really have no choice but to kill him? 

_ "But how would I know when I don't need to kill and when I do need to kill in order to defeat an enemy?" _

"If you really want to help me, if you really are my bestfriend, then you'll do this for me. I would rather die by your hands, Jiiro. If you don't act now, I'll have no choice but to continue on hurting Reina until you kill me," Qintaro said softly, almost pleadingly. 

_"You'll know. I always told you to act on your emotions, didn't I? Do whatever you feel is the right thing to do. Zero will guide you." _

Finally, Jiiro chose one of the possible futures that Zero had shown him. He aimed his twin buster rifle at Stygma then fired. Qintaro pushed the HAVOC out of the way before the beam hit him, sending Stygma plummeting to the ground. Wing Zero stood unmoving for a moment before rushing to where Stygma fell, the HAVOC following behind him. They were still searching when they heard a loud explosion. They followed the sound and found Stygma's wreckage. 

"No..." was all Jiiro managed to say. It wasn't suppose to happen this way! He chose... he made sure... didn't he? 

Beside Wing Zero, Reina stared at what was left of Stygma, desperately trying to ward off the coldness that was threatening to swallow her. She was almost drained of strength and now this. She could feel her control slipping. "Qintaro…" she muttered before succumbing to the darkness. 

  
  



	8. Choices and Consequences, Rebuilding and...

Gundam Legacy Chapter 8   
  
**Disclaimer: **The kids and their friends are mine, the villains and Athena too but their parents ain't (well, aside from Ardy and Toby).   
  
Pardon all the 'waking-up' scenes. For comments, suggestions, flames or reviews, you can email me at raizenheero@aol.com  
  
  


**Gundam Legacy**   
by Neesah 

  
  


**Chapter 8: Choices and Consequences, Rebuilding and Renewal **

  
  
  


Miles opened his eyes, finding himself lying on a hospital bed. "Huh?" He sat up, glancing around the room. He saw Sean, Ren, Colin and Dean on their respective beds, also in the process of waking up. 

"My whole body is sore," Sean remarked as he tried to move and stretch himself. 

"Well, mine too but at least it's not that bloodied and bruised like when we started training," Dean replied. 

"What happened? The last thing I remember was going out of Sandrock's cockpit after being blasted by Stygma. Then blank," Ren said, his forehead furrowed in thought. 

"The same happened to me. I think we all passed out after we went out of our Gundams. Then someone must have found us and took us here," Colin deduced. 

"Right. After Jiiro took Reina here when she passed out in the HAVOC, he went to look for you 5 and his cousins then brought you all here to the nearest hospital," a woman's voice confirmed. They turned their heads and saw that the voice belonged to a familiar-looking brown-haired woman in some kind of a pigtail. She and a blonde entered their room. Miles, Sean, Dean, Ren and Colin wondered at the irony of it all. It was not so long ago that these two were their prisoners. Now, the situation was reversed. 

"We're glad that you're all awake. I know that we've all met before but it was in a not so pleasant circumstance so I suggest we start over. I'm Midii, Trion's mom. And this is Sally, Lee's mom." 

The 5 kids smiled. "It's our pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Barton, Mrs. Chang," Miles said. 

"The pleasure is ours. Oh, and drop the 'Mrs.' All of our kids' friends call us Aunts. So I suggest you do the same," Sally told them with a smile. "By the way, how are you boys feeling?" 

"We're a little sore here and there but it's no biggie. We'd experienced worse before," Sean answered. 

"How long have we been sleeping?" Dean asked timidly. 

Midii looked at her watch. "Well, about 3 hours since the end of the battle." 

"Can you tell us what happened since then? And when you said that Jiiro looked for the 5 of us and his cousins, you mean Kai and the others right? How are they? And where's Qintaro?" Ren asked one after the other. 

Sally and Midii laughed. "One question at a time, ok? Well, since the battle ended, we started rounding up the remaining Dais Rogue soldiers. We took all the injured soldiers here in the Brussels Hospital to be treated while the rest were transported to the Preventer's Main Base in the Sanc Kingdom. The Base is a little bent out of shape with the previous battle but Lady Une still thought it appropriate to have a talk with the surrendered soldiers there," Sally informed them. 

"About your friends, they're fine. Jiiro was the only one of you young Gundam pilots who remained standing after the battle. He, together with his dad, our husbands and other friends are helping the Preventers. Trion, Lee, Kai, Rhys and Deity just woke up too. And having heard that we are short in personnel, they hurriedly jumped out of their beds and volunteered to help us. Reina is still unconscious though. But she'll be fine. She just needs a lot of rest, the HAVOC having drained her of strength," Midii added. Then, her face became sad. "Qintaro threatened to kill Reina so Jiiro had no choice but to fire at him. Stygma plummeted to the ground then exploded. Jiiro and Reina found the wreckage but they didn't find Qintaro. I'm sorry." 

The 5 kids were shocked, speechless. First the General, now Qintaro. And though deep in their hearts, they were still clinging to that small hope that Qintaro managed to survive somehow, they still couldn't help feeling as if the world came crashing down at them. What were they going to do now? 

Finally, Colin said, "We don't know what will happen to us but we want to help too, in any way we can." 

Midii and Sally looked at each other. "We're glad that you feel that way. You see, that's why we're here. The soldiers Lady Une talked to told her that the next one in-charge after Qintaro is Miles. Is that true?" Sally asked. 

"Yes," Miles answered while the others nodded. 

"Well then, how soon can all of you be able to travel?" 

Miles looked at his friends. They all nodded at him. "We can go as soon as possible. Why? Where are we going?" 

"We'll be taking you and the remaining soldiers here in the hospital to the Preventer's base in the Sanc Kingdom. Lady Une is waiting for us there, supervising the repairs and the other captured soldiers," Midii told them. "We have a proposition for you." 

  
  


*********************************************************

  
  
** 9am**  
  


The first thing she saw when she woke up was a familiar pair of sky blue eyes watching over her with concern. "Kaasan?" 

"Hey there," Relena greeted. "How are you feeling?" 

Reina closed her eyes for a second before answering, "I guess I'm fine. Just tired." She looked around and noticed that she was in her room in the Peacecraft Palace. "How long has it been?" 

"2 days." 

"2 days?" Reina repeated, shocked. She had been unconscious for 2 days? She abruptly sat up and asked, "What happened? Where's Niichan and the others? Are they alright?" 

Relena rested a comforting hand on her daughter's shoulder, trying to calm her down. She then arranged the pillows at Reina's back and motioned for her to rest against them. Reina dutifully leaned back against the pillows and waited for her mother to answer her questions. 

"Jiiro, Deity, Trion, Kai, Lee and Rhys are with their fathers, returning the Gundams to their storages. We've all been pretty busy these past two days so this is the only time that they could get away to take back the Gundams. So for two days, they hid the 5 original Gundams and the Tallgeese in the hangar here in the Palace while the other 6 Suits they hid somewhere else near here, fixing them in their spare time and claiming that aside from Stygma, the 6 new Suits were also destroyed during the battle." 

Reina understood why they thought it wise to hide the existence of the HAVOC and the 5 experimental Suits but not that other thing. "They're returning the Gundams to their former storages? The location of those storages had already been compromised!" 

Relena smiled at her. "Do you honestly think that your Tousan hadn't thought of that? I'm sure that they already took care of that little detail." 

Reina wanted to smack herself. How could she have doubted the capabilities of the Perfect Soldier? And not just him but the rest of her Uncles? 

"As for your other friends, they were all taken into Preventer custody, together with the rest of the Dais Rogue soldiers who surrendered," Relena continued. 

"What's going to happen to them now? Are they going to jail?" 

Relena brushed Reina's hair away from her face. "Don't worry. They're not. They're too young to go to jail. Besides, we all know that this whole thing wasn't their fault. They were just following orders. So Lady Une struck a deal with them. And not only with Sean, Miles, Colin, Ren and Dean but also with the rest of the soldiers." 

"What sort of deal?" 

"All of them would be given full amnesty if they join the Preventers." 

"Isn't that risky? I mean, I can vouch for Sean, Miles, Colin, Ren and Dean's loyalties but the other soldiers?" 

"At this point, it's the only logical deal that would benefit both parties. Lady Une needs soldiers in order to rebuild the Preventers Organization. They, on the other hand, are good soldiers looking for their place in this world. Now that the threat of the Dais Rogue is over, everybody knows that if you were a soldier and you want to continue being a soldier, the only place you could go to is the Preventers. So that's insurance enough for them to be loyal. Aside from that, all of the remaining Dais Rogue soldiers are loyal to Miles, Ren, Dean, Colin and Sean. Having those 5 agree to the deal would insure the other soldiers' loyalty. Since Miles was left in command, the decision lies with him. And the last thing I heard, he already said yes." 

Reina was glad that things worked out fine for everyone involved but weren't her friends too young to work for the Preventers? Sure his father, Uncles and some of her Aunts worked for the Preventers at the same age, but it still wasn't the same. What about their studies? 

Sensing Reina's thoughts, Relena said, "Don't worry. Your friends are going back to RECON to study. And they're not going to work for the Preventers full-time, still being students and having Buena Park to manage." Reina looked at her questioningly. "They found Raidon's will and it says there that his 6 kids will inherit Buena Park upon his death. Raidon managed to secure their future afterall. But still being so young, they need someone to look after them, to be their legal guardians. Being under Preventer custody, Lady Une will decide who will their legal guardians be, if they were to remain as one family or be separated. Duo and Hilde, Trowa and Midii, Quatre and Dorothy, Wufei and Sally, Milliardo and Noin, Ardy and Catherine, Heero and I are all willing to be their legal guardians but the final decision lies with Lady Une." 

Reina smiled, knowing that whatever happens, her friends would be in good hands. But there was still one thing she wanted to know. "Kaasan, did they find Qintaro?" Reina asked softly, her Prussian blue eyes locked into her mother's sky blue ones. 

Relena shook her head sadly. Reina looked away, not in surprise but in sadness. Seeing Stygma's wreckage with her own two eyes, she wasn't expecting Qintaro to have survived that explosion. But there was a part of her that wouldn't let go of that small hope that he was alive. She would even settle for finding his body and giving him a proper burial. 

"Qintaro was a nice boy. I really like him," Relena said, remembering that short span of time that she got to know him. After a while, she asked, "Are you mad at Jiiro, Reina?" 

Reina faced her mother again then smiled sadly. "No. I can never get mad at him. He had no other choice. He did what he had to do." She paused for a moment, then continued, "Are you mad at me, Kaasan?" 

Relena frowned. "Why would I get mad at you?" 

"For piloting HAVOC. For killing a lot of people, blowing up a whole resource satellite even. For going against your ideal of Total Pacifism." 

Relena smiled and placed a hand on top of hers. "Total Pacifism only works when everyone is willing to cooperate. In Raidon's case, there was no other choice but to fight. Just imagine what would have happened if your fathers didn't build the new Suits, if they didn't train you to pilot them and if you hadn't used them to reclaim the ESUN. I can never get mad at you for doing what you believed was the right thing to do. You, Jiiro and your cousins fought for what you believed in, just like what your fathers did before you. That's very admirable. And we're all very proud of you." Then, her face grew pensive. "But we still want to apologize for putting this kind of burden on all of you. We tried so hard to prevent this situation from ever happening, but we failed." 

Reina hugged her mother tight. "No need to say sorry, Kaasan. You didn't fail, none of you failed us. On the contrary, if it weren't for all of you, we wouldn't be living in this peaceful world. And you don't have to worry about us. We did this because we wanted to protect peace. And we'll do it again if needed be. You always say that everyone should do his part in maintaining peace. And this is our part. Just like what Athena would say, we are our parents' children. And as your children, it's our duty to continue your legacy." 

Relena returned her hug, happy that they succeeded in instilling such values to their kids, but also sad knowing what these values would exact from them. When they pulled apart, Relena said. "So, how's Athena? I only discovered that she's alive when Quatre told Raidon about you, Athena and the other girls fighting outside the Palace. Then Hilde, Noin, Sally, Cathy, Dorothy, Midii and Lady Une told me that Athena was the one who rescued them from Buena Park. I was expecting to see her right after the battle but she disappeared. I also had a talk with the guys and they all said sorry that they kept it a secret, even your Tousan. Then they told me that they hadn't heard from her since the battle, which I don't know if true or not." 

"She's fine. We all like her. She's very cool. She's the one who trained me. Well, actually, she also trained the others, together with Tousan, but she focused on me, having chosen me as her successor to the HAVOC. " Reina smiled at her. "She told me that you're her first friend and that she missed you. Don't worry. She'll talk to you when she's ready." 

Relena smiled back. Suddenly, they heard Reina's stomach growling. Relena grinned at her sheepishly then stood up. "Oh, sorry. I guess our talk made me forget that you hadn't eaten for two days. I'll get you some food. I'll be back quickly." She kissed her on the forehead first before going out of the room. 

  
  


Six shuttles launched from 6 different sectors of the Sanc Kingdom, each of which was carrying 2 Suits and 2 pilots, headed towards the individual Gundams' storage facilities. Launching from one area and using one Mobile Suit transport cargo would be too conspicuous. So to avoid prying eyes, they decided that each pilot and his kid would take the original pilot's MS and the Suit his kid piloted (in Jiiro's case the Suit his sister piloted) to their respective storage facilities. Then they would all meet at the underground base where they would be keeping the BCS-integrated Suits and the HAVOC. True, the location of the storages might have already been compromised, Miles and the other kids, together with the remaining Dais Rogue soldiers having known the exact locations, but Heero and the rest didn't have any choice at the moment. They couldn't possibly fit all 12 MS in the underground base. So until they could build new storage facilities, Wing Zero, Deathscythe Hell, Sandrock, Heavyarms, Altron and the Tallgeese would remain in their former storages. 

As the 6 shuttles landed in their respective destinations, two Suits could be seen emerging from each one. Upon reaching a dead-end, the older pilot would go out of his Suit then insert his ring on a hidden slot, causing the supposed-to-be dead end to part, revealing a hidden entrance. He would climb back inside the cockpit and the two Suits would enter, the door automatically closing behind them, reverting back to just being a dead end.

  
  


"It's nice to see you again, old buddy," Duo said before climbing out of Deathscythe Hell's cockpit. Deity also went out of Neo-Deathscythe and joined him by the security panel. 

"I'm glad that it's all over," Deity remarked. 

"Yeah. Me too," Duo replied. When he was done activating the security system, he turned to his daughter. "Hey, angel, how does it feel to save the whole ESUN?" he asked with a grin. 

Deity rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "I think you know how it feels, Dad. You, Uncle Heero, Uncle Trowa, Uncle Quatre and Uncle Wufei also saved the world before." 

Duo's face grew serious. "Our case was different, Deity. We grew up in a war-driven world, that was why we knew that our destiny was to fight. We couldn't run away from it even how hard we tried. You, on the other hand, had the chance to escape that kind of life. But because we screwed up, you were forced to become like us. Sorry, angel." 

Deity smiled then hugged him. "It's not your fault, Dad. Nobody screwed up. To answer your question earlier, it feels good to be able to help out. And we'll do it again if we had to." 

Duo kissed her on the forehead. "Even if it'll give you more nightmares?" 

Deity pulled away, startled. "How do you know that I'm having nightmares?" 

"Well, aside from hearing you and the other kids screaming in your sleep for the past two nights, I should know. Anyone who had killed, even for a good cause, would have trouble sleeping." Duo reached out and hugged her again, comforting her. "Don't worry. We're always here for you. You know that, right?" 

"Right. And yes, even if it'll give me more nightmares." 

Duo felt a pang in his heart. "I couldn't be prouder of you, angel." 

"Same here. And oh, since you're the God of Death and I'm your angel, can I be your Angel of Death?" 

Duo looked at her, his violet eyes sad. "Whatever you want, angel. Whatever you want."

  
  


"It's been awhile, Sandrock," Quatre whispered. "Goodbye, friend. Thanks for everything." With that, he cut off Sandrock's power supply. 

Kai was waiting for him below. "Saying goodbye?" 

Quatre nodded then went to the security panel. "Sandrock and I had been thru a lot together." 

Kai grinned. "I know. And from what I gathered, you 6 have this habit of talking to your Gundams." 

Quatre laughed. "I'm afraid you're wrong, Kai. Only me, Heero, Duo, Zechs and Wufei talk to our Gundams. Trowa doesn't. Even so, he's still fond of Heavyarms." Having finished what he was doing, he approached his son, placing his hands on Kai's shoulders. "You did a good job, son. Your Mom and I are so proud of you." 

Kai bowed his head. "It's not a big deal, really, Dad. You and our other Uncles did the same twice before." 

Quatre squeezed his shoulders gently, as if telling him to look back at him. Kai did so and was amazed to see pain and understanding in his father's expressive blue eyes. "It's really a **big deal**, Kai. You kids should never have experienced what we had experienced. You're supposed to live ordinary lives. But because of us, you were dragged into this mess. For that, I am sorry." 

"No need to say sorry, Dad. We're cool about it. We knew that we're the only ones capable of doing the job. And we love peace just as much as all of you so we'll do anything to maintain it." 

Quatre smiled. Somehow, his son's remark made him sad and happy at the same time. "Come on. Let's take Neo-Sandrock back to the underground base."

  
  


After placing Altron on its designated area inside the storage facility, Wufei remarked, "Justice has prevailed again, Nataku," in a soft but satisfied voice. He then went out of the cockpit and saw Lee also in the process of climbing down Neo-Altron. 

Wufei went on his business quietly and efficiently while his son silently watched him. After he was done fiddling with the security panel, he moved towards his son. "With how busy we were these past two days, I haven't gotten the chance to say how proud your Mom and I of you. I know that it wasn't easy, having things suddenly came crashing down on you, learning that you have this great responsibility and in order to fulfill that responsibility, you had to fight and kill. Still, you rose to the challenge and did a remarkable job," he sincerely told Lee. 

"Thanks, Dad. It sure wasn't easy, but I would never regret what I did. And I'll willingly do it again if ever the ESUN needed us once more." 

"I'm happy that my son has a warrior's soul and a strong heart, someone who doesn't shrink away from his responsibilities but…" Wufei trailed off, his eyes conveying a variety of emotions. "If I were to choose, I rather want you to be an ordinary kid. Not a soldier." 

Lee nodded, understanding what his father was trying to tell him. It was his father's way of apologizing for not being able to prevent what just happened. "It's ok, Dad. I might be a soldier once in my life but I'm still a kid. I can still live an ordinary life." As if to prove his point, he smiled at him. 

Wufei gave him a sad smile. "You might be a soldier only once, but you'll never be just an ordinary kid now." 

"Hey, I never been an ordinary kid. I have a Gundam Pilot as a father, a veteran soldier for a mother, and all of my Uncles are Gundam Pilots too. Then there are my Aunts who are soldiers, business women or politicians." 

This time, Wufei really smiled. "You have a point there. But enough chit-chat. Let's return Neo-Altron to the underground base. I'll use the glider."

  
  


Trowa jumped out of Heavyarms, executing a nice acrobatic flip. Upon landing, he looked back up at Heavyarms, a look of fondness flashing in his eyes. He then walked over to the security panel. 

"With everything that has happened, all of us could understand you better now, having been in the same situation," Trion remarked before going out of Neo-Heavyarms' cockpit, also executing an acrobatic flip. 

Without looking back, Trowa replied, "I rather have you kids understand us less if it meant that you didn't have to fight and become like us." 

Trion slowly approached him. "Aren't you proud of me, Dad?" 

Trowa whirled around. "Of course I am, Trion. You don't know how much your Mom and I are proud of you," he told him with a slight smile. "You were suddenly pulled out of your secure lives and told to fight a whole army using the deadliest of all weapons, given only a few days to prepare yourselves physically, mentally and emotionally. But even with these obstacles, you managed to succeed in your mission and come back alive. That was one incredible feat." He suddenly paused, his face sad as he looked at his only son. "Because of who we were, you were forced to take the same path that we had taken, the path of death and destruction. You might had taken that path only once in your life but you'll carry that one moment with you as long as you live," he told Trion, his voice laced with regret and apology. 

"Don't worry about me, Dad. Or any one of us. We're strong, just like you. We'll be fine," Trion assured him. "I might carry the guilt of killing a lot of people my whole life but I'll never regret making the decision to fight. Just as I know you would never regret fighting for the colonies either." 

Trowa placed a hand on Trion's shoulders, nodding at him. Trion smiled, understanding what his father meant to tell him. With that, he made his way up Neo-Heavyarms again. 

  
  


Zechs maneuvered Tallgeese to its original position inside the storage. "It really has been a long time, Tallgeese," he addressed the Mobile Suit. Turning off the power supply, he went out of the cockpit and slowly descended to the ground. 

Rhys saw that his father was activating the security panel. He went out of his own Suit to join him. "Dad, umm, we haven't gotten the chance to really talk these past 2 days so I'm taking this chance to say sorry for tarnishing the Peacecraft family name." 

Startled, Zechs turned around to face him. "I don't quite follow you, Rhys." 

"The name Peacecraft had always been synonymous to peace and I know that you and Aunt Relena went to a great extent in keeping it that way. She, by abiding to the Peacecraft ideal to the core and you, though you've been a soldier all your life, protected the Peacecraft name by taking on the name Zechs Merquise whenever you fight. I, on the other hand, was inconsiderate enough to fight and kill during the last battle bearing the Peacecraft name. Jiiro and Reina fought too but they bear the name Yuy so it's different. I'm really sorry, Dad." 

"So, you'r saying sorry coz you didn't get the chance to think of an alias before going out in a Suit to save the ESUN?" Zechs asked lightly. He wanted to make Rhys realize how ridiculous it sounded. But seeing the pensive expression on his son's face, he knew that Rhys really believed that he tarnished their name. 

Resting his hands on Rhys' shoulders, Zechs said, "It's true that Relena and I put a great emphasis in keeping the ideals of the Peacecraft name alive and intact so you must believe me when I say that you've done nothing to tarnish our name. On the contrary, you lived up to it, exalting it even more. You did a marvelous job, son, and we couldn't be any prouder." 

Rhys' eyes lit up when he heard his father's words. All of a sudden, he noticed his father's face became troubled as he dropped his hands from his shoulders. "If anyone should apologize, it's us. We're supposed to be the only ones who had to fight. We gladly took on the burden of fighting and all the consequences that came with it so nobody else would have to, especially not you. But at the end, we weren't able to prevent our own kids from making the same sacrifice we did. We might have foreseen this day coming, having trained you bit by bit while you were growing up but we did the best we could to prevent this day from becoming a reality. But we still failed. I guess our best wasn't good enough." 

"You didn't fail, Dad. You, Mom, Aunt Relena, Uncle Heero and the others succeeded in making a peaceful world for us to live in. And you know that you couldn't possibly prevent every disaster from happening. It's not your fault that we became soldiers. We fought on our own free will because we wanted to help. It might be because of the genes or maybe you guys brought us up well but the thing is we couldn't just stand there and do nothing when we know that we could do something to help. We made our choice to fight, so like you, we just have to live with it. Besides, I always believed that it's a blessing to die for a cause, because one could easily die for nothing." Smiling, Rhys continued, "Thanks for being proud of me, Dad. I was scared for a while there, thinking that I disgraced our family or much worse, I disappointed you. I know that someday I'll be Sanc's next Chief Representative. I just don't want to let our people down." 

Zechs smiled. "You won't. You'll become a great leader, I'm certain of it. And you'll never be a disappointment to me, Rhys. Remember that." 

"I will," Rhys replied, smiling back. 

"Come on, kiddo. They're waiting for us at the other side."

  
  


"Thanks for guiding my son, Zero," Heero said inside the cockpit. As if hearing him, Wing Zero's eyes glowed green. Feeling Zero's acknowledgment, he quietly climbed down. 

"How are you feeling, Jiiro?" he asked as he set up the security system, sensing that his son was standing just a few feet away from him. 

"Tired. But I'm fine," he replied, pausing briefly, as if deliberating something. Finally, he asked, "Tousan, did you ever choose a future from the set of futures Zero showed you then not be able to execute it properly?" 

Finished with his task, Heero turned around to him. "Is this about Qintaro?" 

Jiiro nodded. "I remember you telling me that I'll know when to kill and when not to kill in order to defeat an enemy. With all the possible futures that Zero showed me, I chose the one that didn't involve killing him. I know that he was just upset and grieving, killing him wouldn't be the right thing to do. But I guess I miscalculated my shot or something." 

Hearing what just Jiiro said, something occurred to Heero. But instead he replied, "You did what you had to do. I know Reina and your friends understand that." Heero held his gaze, 2 pairs of Prussian blue eyes locked onto each other. "You did an excellent job, Jiiro. It was your first mission and you had to face overwhelming odds but you pulled through. You saved the whole ESUN and the lives of your Kaasan, your imuoto, and your friends. Your Kaasan and I could never be more proud." 

Jiiro smiled sadly at him. "Thanks, Tousan. Like what you said, I just did what I had to do. And I'll willingly fight again if needed be. Peace must be protected no matter what the cost. And I promise that I'll protect peace no matter what it'll cost me." He then looked at his hands. "I see blood. In my hands, in my dreams." He looked back at Heero. "Will it ever stop?" 

Heero watched him for a moment before answering. "I'll be lying if I say that it would. No soldier would ever forget his first kill nor would he be able to wash away the blood in his hands. But as time passes by, it'll become more bearable, especially if you have family and friends who'll help you make things bearable." Heero stopped, looking at his own hands. "I committed many crimes in my lifetime but the most unpardonable of it was making you kids into something like us." 

"What's unpardonable in turning us into someone like you, soldiers who fought for a cause? It was our choice to fight, Tousan and even before, we already accepted what that entails. We might carry the scars of the last battle all throughout our lives but we won't ever regret making that decision. We did what we had to do, just like you did what you had to do. You committed no crime against us. And you don't have to worry or feel guilty. We'll be fine. I just want to know if the nightmares would stop, that's all." 

Heero approached him and tousled his already unruly hair. He was proud of him, of Reina and of all the kids. But even with all the assurance those kids and their parents told him and would continue on telling him, he couldn't stop feeling guilty for having dragged them into a war, just like he knew that no words of assurance would stop Jiiro from feeling guilty over Qintaro's death either. "Let's get going," Heero said as he went to Wing Zero's bust to open the elevator. 

Jiiro nodded and climbed up HAVOC's cockpit.

  
  


Rhys, Kai, Deity, Trion and Lee jumped out of the 5 BCS-integrated Suits after placing them back inside the chamber in the underground base. Afterwards, they headed towards the computer terminal where their fathers were. 

"All Suits are inside. You can close it now," Kai said to his father. Quatre nodded, pushing a button. A humming noise was heard as the wall at the far side went down, concealing the 5 Mobile Suits. 

"Hey, Uncle Heero and Jiiro are here," Deity said, seeing Heero and the HAVOC emerged from the glass tube. 

The older pilots nodded at Heero then returned their attention to the computer terminal where a map was displayed on the screen while the 5 kids watched the HAVOC and Heero went to the other end of the room, opposite the 5 MS' storage. 

"Umm, all the Gundam busts match the DNA print stored inside the stone with the voice print of the holder of the ring, right? That's why even if they have Reina's ring, they still need Reina's voice to open the storage. So how could Uncle Heero and Jiiro access the HAVOC's storage when the only two people who could open it are not here?" Rhys asked. 

A beep of an incoming transmission was then heard. "I think this will answer your question, Rhys," Trowa said as he answered the transmission. The map disappeared and Athena's face appeared on the screen. 

"Good, you're all there. So kids, how are you doing?" Athena asked. 

"We're ok. But Reina is still unconscious," Lee answered. 

"So I've heard. But don't worry about her. It's a usual side effect of piloting HAVOC. It has been 2 days, right? I bet she's already awake by the time you return. Say hi for me, ok?" 

"Will do," Trion told her. 

"Thanks." Seeing Heero by HAVOC's bust, she asked, "Do you have Reina's ring, Heero?" 

"Hn," Heero replied, showing her the ring. 

"Ok then. Let's start." Heero inserted the ring in the bust's right eye. The stone's color changed into red. Afterwhich, an electronic voice said, "Please state your full name." 

"Activate Override Sequence. Name Athena Arbus Mazaki. Code J1014F. Deactivate Voice Recognition," Athena said from the terminal. 

The stone's color then changed into green. "Override Sequence Complete. Voice Recognition Deactivated. Please state your full name." 

"Reina Keiko Yuy." 

Upon stating Reina's name, the wall went up and the HAVOC made its way inside. With his task done, Jiiro desynchronized from the HAVOC and jumped down. Just as he stepped out of the chamber, the wall suddenly went down again, concealing the Mobile Suit. 

Deity managed to voice out the question in the kids' minds. "You mean the busts could be overridden?" 

"Yes. But only by the two people it recognizes. Like in this case, we have Reina's ring but she isn't here. So we used Athena's voice to deactivate the voice recognition program, causing the computer to just match the given name with the DNA print inside the ring's stone. It's only temporary though. The voice recognition program would again be activated as soon as the door closes," Zechs explained. 

"Oh." 

Duo crossed his arms and looked at the terminal questioningly. "Why can't you come here, Athena?" 

Athena flashed him an apologetic smile. "I have things to take care of. Sorry." 

"Is that also why you suddenly disappeared after the battle?" Wufei asked. "Relena, Lady Une and our wives were inquiring about you." 

Athena looked sheepish when she answered, "Oh, that. Well, I was tired so I thought it best to immediately go home." 

Zechs carefully studied her. After all these years, she was still running away. "They really want to talk to you, you know. Especially Relena. Though she wasn't mad that we didn't tell her that you're alive, knowing that you made us promise to keep it a secret, we still knew that she was hurt." 

"She even made us tell her everything since the time we discovered you're alive and what you'd been doing these past years," Trowa added. 

"And again, we had to lie when she asked us if we had heard from you since the end of the battle," Quatre told her. 

"We didn't exactly lie to her, Quatre. We actually got to talk to Athena after Relena had asked us," Duo corrected. 

"Even so, we still didn't tell Relena when Athena contacted us. I, for one, talked to her 3 times these past 2 days," Heero told them. His eyes bored into her and even though they were miles away from each other, Athena could still feel the intensity in his eyes. "You couldn't do this forever, Athena. You know that," he added meaningfully. "As soon as I get home, I'm going to tell her that I talked to you and that you're still on Earth. I couldn't lie to my wife anymore." 

Athena nodded. "I understand. Sorry for all the trouble I caused you, guys. I didn't mean to make you lie or hurt anyone. It's just that I'm still not ready to face any of them, especially Relena." 

"But you already faced them, didn't you? Most of them, anyways. You're the one who saved them from Buena Park," Rhys pointed out. 

"That's different. It was a mission. Now, if I were to see them, it wouldn't be a mission anymore but a social thing. And I don't know if I'm ready for that yet," Athena replied. She then turned her head to the side, as if listening for something. "I better go. Is opening the HAVOC's storage all you need of me?" 

"Hn. Thanks," Heero said. 

"Ok. You know where to call me if ever you need anything. Bye." With that, the transmission was disconnected. 

"That was strange. There's nothing that could keep Athena from going here to the base especially if we asked her to. Something is up," Trowa voiced out. He looked at Heero. "You're suspecting something," he stated. 

Heero deliberated whether he would share his suspicions or not. Finally, he answered, "She's hiding something from us. I still don't know what but I have this feeling that we'll know soon enough." 

It was Wufei's turn to regard him. "You said earlier that you talked to Athena thrice for the past 2 days but we only got to talk to her once. When were the other 2?" 

Heero went to the computer terminal. "She first called the night after the battle to tell me that she's staying in her house in Brussels. She asked about everything --- how things were, the kids, the captured soldiers, the Preventers. Then she asked what time we would be in the Preventers HQ the next day. The next call was the one where she all talked to us in the Preventers HQ. She called again after that, when all of you had gone off to your respective assignments. She wanted to talk to Lady Une and the kids." 

"What kids?" Duo asked. 

"Miles, Ren, Dean, Colin and Sean." 

"Why?" Lee queried. 

"And why would she want to talk with Lady Une?" Zechs added. 

"Sorry. As it stands, it's still classified," Heero answered. "It was also then that I asked her to come here so we could return the HAVOC, Reina still being unconscious. But she said that she couldn't come and instead told me to get Reina's ring." After punching some keys, the map of the 6 storage facilities was shown again on the screen. "Have you decided on the new locations yet?" 

"Yes. Here are the new coordinates," Quatre replied, clicking a button. The new locations appeared on the map. "Predicting that you'll choose this location," Quatre pointed on a certain area on the map, "we'll be able to maintain this underground base as the center of the 6 points. But all new storage facilities would be a good 1 km further than the original ones." 

"Which means longer hanging time in the glider," Duo voiced out. 

Heero studied the map. "I guess I'll choose that point then. When can we start?" 

Zechs, Trowa, Duo, Quatre and Wufei looked at each other. "We'll all be busy for the next few weeks so I suggest we start next month," Zechs said. 

"I agree. I'm pretty certain that the Gundams will be safe in their former storages for that span of time, Sally having hyptonized all the Dais Rogue soldiers, planting a different set of coordinates for the individual storages," Wufei amended. 

Duo rubbed his hands together. "That settles it then. Next month it is. I'm sure that I'll be able to procure all the materials by that time. We'll build the storages in a clockwise direction again, right?" 

The 5 older pilots nodded. "So that means Deathscythe's storage will be built first, just like before. Great!" Duo exclaimed. 

"What will happen to the old storages? Are you going to demolish them?" Kai asked. 

"No. We'll let it stand there as a decoy. If ever the soldiers bypass the hypnosis that Sally did to them and remember the real coordinates, they'll find the storage but not the Gundams," Trowa told him. 

Kai nodded appreciatively. "Very smart." 

"Hey, Jiiro, why so quiet?" Rhys suddenly inquired. 

"Nothing. Just tired. Piloting the HAVOC was exhausting." 

Rhys studied him. "You're thinking of Qintaro again, aren't you?" 

Jiiro didn't reply. Trion rested a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Hey, I know it's hard but you have to stop blaming yourself for what happened. It's not your fault. All of us understand that." 

Deity hooked her arm around his. "It's sad that he's gone and we're all going to miss him but nobody's blaming you for it. We're not blaming you, even Miles, Ren, Dean, Colin and Sean are not blaming you. Remember our talk with them yesterday? They completely understand that you didn't have any other choice. Besides, it was what he asked of you. So cut yourself some slack, will ya?" Her eyes then got that devious look all of them knew so well. "If you don't, then I'll be forced to do this just to loosen you up," she said as she began tickling him. 

Jiiro's laughter echoed in the underground base. Even with all the training he had and even after mastering the Zero system, he was still not immune to Deity's tickles. But being stronger, he succeeded in pulling away from her after a few seconds. Catching his breath, he muttered, "Ok, ok. I'll lighten up. Just get those accursed fingers away from me." 

Deity placed her index finger near her lips, blowing it as if it were a gun. "Mission Accomplished." Everyone laughed. 

"Since we're all done here, I think we should head back to the Palace," Quatre suggested. 

"Yeah. We still have to go back the way we came to get our shuttles," Duo added. 

The rest nodded then all of them headed towards the glass tube. 

  
  
**3 pm**  
  


Jiiro peered inside Reina's room. He saw her sitting up on her bed, obviously resting but definitely looking bored. "Can I come in?" 

"Sure," Reina answered, watching her brother made his way towards her. He sat on her bed then said, "I just heard from Kaasan that you're up so I thought to pay you a visit. How are you feeling?" 

"I'm fine. Really. I've been awake for 6 hours now but Kaasan won't let me get out of bed. She said that I should conserve my strength," Reina replied, pouting. 

"I think she's right. Piloting the HAVOC really drained you. I was the one who piloted it earlier and all I did was walk it from the storage to the underground base but it still exhausted me. I couldn't imagine the toll it had exacted from you, fighting, flying, deflecting blasts. Do you know that you blacked-out when you were still inside HAVOC? I almost didn't catch you when you suddenly fell to the ground." 

Reina nodded. "Well, Athena already warned me about it. It's a side effect, nothing to get worried about. Sleeping for 2 days straight made me regain my strength." Smiling at him, she added, "Thanks for taking care of me, Niichan." 

Jiiro smiled back. "Anytime." 

"Just got back from the underground base, I presume?" 

"Hn," Jiiro replied, handing her key ring back to her. "The Gundams will stay there until Tousan and our other Uncles finished building new storage facilities. And as an added precaution, they asked Aunt Sally to hypnotize the remaining Dais Rogue soldiers, even our friends, planting a different set of coordinates in their minds. That way, they might think that they know where the Gundams are kept but in reality, they don't." 

"Cool. They always come up with cool, efficient plans like that, don't they, Niichan?" Reina remarked with admiration. She slipped her ring back on her finger then looked up at him questioningly. "Do I still have to ask why you needed my ring when Athena could easily open HAVOC'c storage?" 

"She couldn't come to the base so she asked Tousan to get your ring. She called when we were in the base then announced the override codes, knowing that the computer would recognize her voice and open the storage. She sends you her regards." Suddenly, Jiiro grew serious. "Reina, I'm so sorry." 

Reina reached out to take his hand. "Why are you apologizing to me? You only did what you had to do. Actually, you did what he wanted you to do. I miss him and it hurts to think that I wouldn't see him again but what about you? I know that Qintaro means just as much to you as he is to me. I know that it was harder for you, having been the one who had to choose, the one who fired that shot. Nobody's blaming you for anything, so stop blaming yourself for something you had no control of." 

"But I did have control. I have Zero. I swear, I never planned it to end that way," Jiiro said, anguish and sorrow evident in his voice. 

Reina threw her arms around him. "I know. I was there too, remember? And we're twins so I somewhat had an idea what you were trying to do. I know that you weren't planning on killing him. You fired at him knowing that he would let go of me. Then when his Suit plummeted downwards, we would get him out and talk to him. But something went wrong and it wasn't your fault. Believe me, it wasn't." 

"I might not want to kill him then but at the end, I still did. He might forgive me, you and our other friends might forgive me but how could I possibly forgive myself? I didn't only kill my bestfriend, I also ruined your chance to be happy with him." 

Reina hugged him tighter. "Don't worry about me. I'm happy just thinking that he's with his dad and that wherever they are now, they're both happy and at peace. Maybe also thinking that will help you forgive yourself. Remember, you're Qintaro's best friend too. He wouldn't want you punishing yourself for something he asked you to do." 

They continued hugging, comforting each other. Suddenly, they heard Rhys say, "Hey, Jiiro, you're 5 minutes are up. We also want to say hi to Reina." 

The twins pulled apart and saw Deity, Kai, Trion, Lee and Rhys standing by the doorway. The 5 kids entered and also plopped on her queen-sized bed. 

"Good to see you're up, Reina. You sure missed a lot of excitement these past two days," Deity said as she hugged her. 

"I think she was lucky to have been sleeping all this time. Things got really crazy around here," Kai remarked. 

"You look like you're ready for some action, Rei," Rhys said approvingly. 

"Yup. I'm fit as a fiddle. I can sure use a good exercise. I know! Let's go to the combat room and do some combat exercises." 

The 6 kids looked at each other. "I think we'll all pass. We haven't gotten any rest since the battle ended," Trion told her. 

"Yeah. It's our turn to sleep. I'm ready to crash here and sleep for two days," Lee added, curling up into a ball and pretending to have fallen asleep. Everyone laughed and threw pillows at him. "Hey!" 

Laughing, Jiiro said, "At least you guys got to sleep for 3 hours after the battle. I, on the other hand, was the only one left 'conscious' to carry all of you to the hospital then help the Preventers while you were sleeping." 

It was Jiiro's turn to be assaulted by pillows. "Stop reminding us that we were knocked unconscious!" the 6 kids yelled. 

They were still hitting Jiiro when Kai suddenly said, "Hey! I just thought of something." 

Pillows stopped on midair as 6 pairs of eyes looked at him. "Well, I just thought that we managed to get the ESUN back and we're still alive. We pulled it off, guys!" Kai remarked, smiling. 

The other kids smiled too. "Yeah. We certainly did," Lee affirmed. 

"We should celebrate, you know," Deity suggested. 

"Actually, I heard Mom, Aunt Relena and the rest talking about a celebratory barbecue that will be held a day before we all go back to space --- us kids to school while our families to their respective homes," Trion informed them. 

"Kaasan told me all about it too. Even Sean, Dean, Colin, Ren and Miles are invited since they're going back with us to RECON," Reina said. 

Jiiro looked at the calendar on the wall. "So that'll be the day after tomorrow, right?" 

"Right. Now that's all settled, I suggest we continue hitting Mr. I'm-the-only-one-left-standing-during-the last-battle," Deity commented with a grin. 

With lightning quick reflexes, Jiiro grabbed a pillow. "Oh no, you don't." And another pillow fight ensued. 

Outside Reina's room, Heero and Relena watched the 7 kids smack each other with pillows, laughing and yelling. "They might have saved the whole ESUN but they're still kids afterall. I'm glad that they didn't lose their selves during the battle," Relena remarked. 

"Hn. They are kids first, soldiers second. Now that the threat is over, they don't need to be soldiers anymore." 

"But they wouldn't be just ordinary kids now," Relena said, her voice sad. 

Heero wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "I'm afraid not. They are kids who knew of death, who caused death, who stared at the face of death and survived. Nobody with that kind of experience and with the responsibility of being peace's last resort would ever be ordinary. But they'll be fine. Their strength lies not in the Gundams they're piloting but with the understanding and acceptance of their duty." 

Relena nodded. "Yeah. I guess I shouldn't be worried. They got us and they got each other. With that, I know that everything will be alright." 

Heero gently squeezed her shoulder. They stared at the kids once last time before walking away.

  
  


Consciousness flooded his mind, making him open his eyes. He sat up abruptly, causing his head to spin. He laid down for a moment and tried to sit up again, this time slowly. He looked around, studying his surroundings. He was in a big room, fully furnished, with blue walls, a fireplace and its own bathroom. It didn't fit his conception of Heaven, or Hell for that matter. Actually, it looked more like a guest room. He placed his hands in front of him, then felt his body. Aside from a few scars, bruises and maybe one or two broken bones, he was ok. "I'm alive," he stated, puzzled. "But how?" 

"I think you know the answer to that," someone told him. He turned his head and saw an auburn-haired woman by the doorway, carrying a tray of food, which he suspected was his. Maybe it was because she looked so familiar and that she obviously took care of him. Maybe it was the expression of understanding in her green eyes, which were very similar to his own. Or maybe it was just that his brain had been more damaged that he originally thought. Whatever the reason was, he didn't think of asking her the common questions anyone in his position would have asked, like 'Who are you?' or 'Where am I?'. Instead, he replied, "I'm alive because Jiiro didn't kill me." 

She nodded, telling him that he was right. She entered the room and placed the tray on top of the table. "I'm glad that you're finally awake, Qintaro. You've been unconscious since I took you here from the battle 2 days ago. I was getting worried." 

Qintaro was surprised, not only because she knew his name but also because he couldn't believe that he had been unconscious for two days. Finally, he felt his head working, his common sense kicking in. "I don't mean to sound ungrateful but… Who are you? And where are we?" 

She smiled at him. "I'm Athena and you're in my house, just a few miles away from the Presidential Palace. I live in L1 but whenever I'm on Earth, I stay here." 

Qintaro studied her. Athena. Where did he hear that name before? Then he remembered. She was on their file. "Athena Arbus Mazaki. HAVOC's pilot." 

Athena smiled at him again, sitting down beside him on the bed. Seeing her like that made him wonder how this sweet lady could pilot such a monster as HAVOC, much less be called the Goddess of War. Then again, there was something about her that told him instinctively how dangerous she could be. 

"Former pilot," she corrected. "Reina is HAVOC's pilot now. And I'm proud to say that I made a good choice in training her as my successor." 

He flinched when he heard Reina's name, nonetheless he asked, "But I didn't see you during the battle. How did you get me here?" 

"I happened to be at the right place at the right time. When Jiiro blasted you, Stygma fell near the spot where I hid my jeep the day I arrived on Earth. I opened the cockpit and noticed that the self-destruct system was accidentally activated by the impact of the blast or your fall since you, being unconscious, couldn't have possibly initiated it. I hurriedly dragged you out towards my jeep and we're just a few meters away when Stygma exploded," Athena told her. Looking directly in his eyes, she said, "Everyone thinks your dead though." 

Qintaro looked away. "I think it's better this way. After all I've done, I… I can't possibly face any of them again." 

"It might come as a surprise to you, but I know how you feel. But no matter how good you are at concealing yourself and no matter how hard you try, you can't possibly hide from them forever. Sooner or later, you have to face them, face the consequences of your actions. Believe me, I should know," Athena said softly. 

Qintaro looked back at her, remembering that she was supposed to be dead too. "Oh, pardon me for talking too much. You need to eat. Remember, you haven't eaten for two days and your body needs to recuperate" Athena said as she lifted the tray on top of the table and placed it in front of him. "Feel free to tell me if you need anything else, ok?" 

Qintaro nodded. "Thank you very much." Two pairs of green eyes then locked into each other. "Why are you doing this, Athena? Why take care of me?" 

Athena smiled. "Because I like you. I know that you're a good kid. I'm good judge of character, Qintaro. It comes in the territory of being a good soldier and infiltrator. From what I've heard from Reina and the other kids' stories and from what I've seen and heard for myself so far, I realized that we're alike in more ways than one. Another reason is that I don't want to make Reina, Jiiro or any of your friends sad. They're all devastated that you're gone, you know." 

"I still don't know if I can face them again." 

"Let's talk about that later when you're done eating. And since I have this feeling that you're not sure what you're planning to do next in your life, why not stay with me? I know that we just met but I think that, you know, birds of the same feather should flock together." 

Qintaro smiled. As she said before, they just met but he instantly liked her. Sort of a cross between a Mom and a friend. And now that she mentioned it, staying with her sounded more appealing every second. "It sounds nice. Thanks." He looked down at his food then asked, "Want to eat with me?" 

"Thanks, but no thanks. I just ate. I'll keep you company while you're eating though." 

He picked up his fork and was about to dig in when he looked back at her. "Umm, since we'll be housemates, I want to know more about you. Is that ok?" 

Athena smiled. "Sure. What do you want to know about?" 

"Everything." 

"Everything? That'll be a long story." 

Qintaro shrugged "I'm a slow eater." 

"Fine then. But after I'm done, you'll tell me everything about you too." 

"Deal." 

Athena furrowed her forehead, thinking. "Hmm, let's see. I was born…"

  
  



	9. The future starts here

Gundam Legacy Chapter 9   
  
**Disclaimer: **I still don't own Gundam Wing [sigh].   
  
This should have been a part of chapter 8 but it got too long so I cut it. Oh, and sorry if not all the characters have speaking lines. For comments, suggestions, flames or reviews, you can email me at raizenheero@aol.com  
  
  


**Gundam Legacy**   
by Neesah 

  
  


**Chapter 9: The future starts here**

  
  
  


It was a bright and beautiful day, perfect for doing something outdoors, like a barbecue. Which was exactly what the whole gang was currently doing in the Peacecraft Palace Garden. Wufei and Quatre were done barbecuing so all the food was placed on the buffet table, ready to be eaten. They arranged all the small, square tables to make two long tables that could seat 20 persons each. One table was occupied by all the adults while the other was occupied by all the kids. Everyone was seated and chatting happily among themselves as they ate, except for Heero who excused himself a few minutes ago to answer a phone call. At first, the other kids were a little wary of Dean, Miles, Sean, Colin and Ren when they arrived with Lady Une, Marimeia and Toby. No one could blame them though. They were kept as prisoners by those soldiers for almost a month, and now they were going to eat with them? But being kids, they all got along soon enough. Carrie even started blushing whenever Dean talked to her and vice versa, which didn't go unnoticed by everyone. Trion shook his head at this small development, amused. His cousin and bestfriend hooking up? Not a bad idea, though it kind of reminded him how Jiiro must have felt like knowing that his sister and bestfriend might have hooked up. Unfortunately, everyone in their table also started thinking of the same thing, dampening the happy occasion. But only for a moment. Wanting to lighten up the mood, Sean stole a big piece of barbecue from Deity's plate. Deity tried to take it back but Sean already swalloed the whole thing. Unluckily for him, he choked, making everyone laugh so hard they almost fell off the benches which had a not-so-good side effect of Sean almost dying coz everyone was laughing their heads off, they forgot to help him out. 

From inside the Palace, Qintaro shook his head, smiling, as he watched Miles administering the Heimilch procedure on his cousin. "Aren't you going to join them? They seem to be having fun," Athena said from beside him, also smiling at the spectacle. 

"I could say the same to you, you know," Qintaro replied. 

Athena grinned sheepishly. "Well, I'm planning on joining them, that's why I accepted Heero's invitation. I'm just gathering the guts to walk over there." 

Qintaro remained quiet for a while, his eyes focused on the group outside. "Unlike you, I'm not planning on facing them anytime soon and I specifically remember telling you that. That's why I'm wondering how I let you drag me here." 

Athena grinned again. "I could be very persuasive if I needed to. Besides, I honestly think that you want to see them too." 

Qintaro sighed as he continued watching his friends. She was right but still… "Now that I've seen them, can't I just go back to Brussels? They're not really expecting me, you're the one whom they invited. Please, Athena, let me go back," he pleaded. 

Athena looked him in the eye. "What did I tell you before? You couldn't run and hide forever. You have to face them eventually and the sooner you do, the better it will be for you and for everyone. Those people are the most forgiving and the most understanding of all the people I met my entire life. It'll be ok. Don't be like me. Don't spend half of your life running away from the only family you'll ever have," Athena pleaded back. "As for **our** invitation, Relena asked Heero to invite me in her behalf and Heero said that I could bring a friend if I wanted to. Actually, he insisted on it. So technically speaking, you're invited too." 

Qintaro looked at her questioningly. "Does he know? About me, I mean." 

"Well, the 6 of them suspects that I'm hiding something. But Heero being Heero, I'm certain that he had a good guess what that something is. He was the one whom I talked with the most for the past few days, being my liaison with Lady Une and the rest of the outside world. Besides, I know for a fact that he knew that Jiiro didn't intend to kill you so you shouldn't be dead. That's why he told me to bring a friend. He knew that there's a big probability that I might have taken you in from the last battle and that I would be bringing you here. Right, Heero?" 

"Hn." 

Surprised, Qintaro looked back and saw Heero standing behind them. "Still sneaking behind people, I see," Athena remarked, also turning to look back. Smiling at him, she added, "I really couldn't hide anything from you, huh?" 

Heero shrugged. "I have good deductive skills," he replied lightly. "Let's go. Relena is expecting you. As do the others." 

Athena nodded. Relena had been very considerate, even after discovering that she asked the guys to keep her being alive a secret and even after finding out that she was still on Earth from Heero when she just disappeared after the battle. She knew that Relena wanted to talk her, but knowing that she might not still be ready, Relena asked Heero to call her on her behalf instead of inviting her personally. And now, it was high time she returned all of Relena's kindness to her. When she accepted the invitation, it was an indication that she was ready, that was why Relena was expecting her. It was time for an overdued girltalk. 

Athena turned her head to regard her companion. "What about you, Qintaro?" 

Qintaro didn't answer. Seeing this, Heero said, "Go ahead, Athena. We'll follow you." 

Understanding what he meant, Athena winked at Qintaro. "Don't worry. Heero doesn't bite. Sometimes." Satisfied that she made Qintaro stiffen a little, she took a deep breath then went out of the door, walking over to the group. Qintaro and Heero watched as exclaims of hi's and hello's were heard when the group saw her. 

"So you're Qintaro. I've heard a lot about you from Jiiro, Reina and the other kids. And as I gather, Athena is also quite fond of you, as do my wife," Heero stated. 

Qintaro tried to suppress the nervousness he was feeling as he looked right into Heero's eyes. Heero always had that effect on people. Actually, Qintaro shouldn't be afraid, seeing that the man dubbed as the most dangerous in the whole ESUN looked just like an older version of his bestfriend but unlike Jiiro, Heero exuded an aura of death and danger, just like Athena. Aside from that, the knowledge that he was Reina's Dad was enough to make him sweat. "I… uhh…" He trailed off, feeling like an idiot. He wanted to say a lot of things, but that was all that came out of his mouth. Maybe it was because he didn't know where to start. He wanted to say sorry for all that he did and for all that his father had done. He wanted to say that he was also fond of Athena and Miss Relena, that Athena had told him a lot about Heero too. But at that particular moment, he couldn't seem to find the right words to say. Before he could form any coherent thought, he heard Heero speak. 

"I know what you want to say. And I understand. But I know as well as you do that there are other people whom you should be talking to right now." 

Finally, Qintaro found his voice. "But I don't know if I can." 

As a reply, Heero turned around and started walking towards the door leading outside. "Remember that the longer you hide, the longer Jiiro would continue on blaming himself for killing his bestfriend, even if he didn't actually do." With that, Heero went out to join his family and friends. 

  
  


"Hey. Athena's here!" Reina commented as they saw Athena walking towards them. 

"Hi, Athena!" Deity, Jiiro, Trion, Kai, Rhys, Lee, Miles, Ren, Colin, Dean and Sean chorused while the other kids just smiled at her tentatively. Zeke, Deirdre, Dylan, Haley, Mitzi and Carrie knew her from stories and they saw her when she helped them get out of Buena Park but they didn't really know her personally. Hilde, Dorothy, Noin, Sally, Catherine, Lady Une, Midii, Marimeia, Toby, Ardy, Quatre and Duo smiled and said their hello's too as Zechs, Trowa and Wufei nodded at her. Athena said hi back and went straight to Relena's side. 

"Hi, Athena. Long time no see," Relena remarked, smiling brightly. 

"Yeah. It's been too long." Relena stood up and the two friends hugged. 

"I'm glad that you came." 

"So am I. I think this is the smartest thing I've ever done for a long time." 

When they pulled apart, Athena said, "I'm so sorry for not telling you the truth sooner, Relena. And don't get mad at Heero and the other guys. I'm the one who asked them not to tell anyone." 

"I know you and the guys well enough to figure that out for myself. Besides, you Gundam Pilots stick together no matter what, like an exclusive club, a fraternity or something of the sorts." 

Deity, Reina, Jiiro, Trion, Kai, Rhys, Lee, Miles, Ren, Colin, Dean and Sean looked at each other then smiled. They knew what Relena meant. The other kids also agreed with Relena's statement. It wasn't that Deity and the others were treating them differently now nor were they excluding them or anything, especially with Sean and the others now included in the picture. It was just that, whether they liked to or not, whether they acknowledged it or not, something was setting them apart from those who fought during the last war. Those 12 had shared a profound experience together, something that they would carry with them for the rest of their lives. And that was one part of their lives the younger kids couldn't partake of, one that they would never come to fathom. Which was both a blessing and a curse if one would stop to think about it. 

Noin handed Athena a plate. "Get yourself some food, Athena. There's plenty for everyone." 

Athena smiled as she took the plate. "Thanks, Noin. But…" She looked back, just in time to see Heero walking towards them. She looked quizzically at him. "Heero, where's…?" 

"He'll be out," Heero assured her as he took a seat beside his wife. 

Duo grinned slyly at her. "Ooohhh. A guy, e? It's high time you bring a boyfriend to introduce to us. I'm just telling Quatre earlier that I'm planning on fixing you up with one of my bachelor friends." 

"He's not my boyfriend, Duo. And don't think of setting me up with anyone. Thanks for the thought, but I have other things to take care of right now." Looking at Reina, Athena smiled as she added, "As for the 'guy' that I brought with me, he's young enough to be my son. Besides, he already likes somebody else." 

Before anyone could ask her who it was, gasps of shock, then of joy were heard as everyone saw a familiar looking guy with dirty blonde hair in a ponytail emerged from the Palace. Deity jumped on her feet and ran towards him, followed by Sean, Miles, Ren, Colin, Dean, Trion, Kai, Rhys and Lee. 

"QINTARO!" They chorused, Deity enveloping him in a tight hug. 

"Is that really you? Are you really alive?" 

"Man! We thought you're dead!" 

"Or are you a zombie? A ghost perhaps?" 

"What happened? How did you survive the explosion?" 

"Now I know that Gundam Pilots are really hard to kill." 

"You mean you've been with Athena all this time?" 

Qintaro looked at the happy faces of his friends. He couldn't see any rejection, anger or accusation in them, just joy. "Sorry, guys. For everything." 

"Forget about it. What's important is that you're alive." 

"And that you're with us again." 

"So, care to tell us what you've been up to these past few days?" 

"Do you know that we're Preventers now?" 

"Come on, kids. Ask your questions later. Qintaro needs to eat too," Sally called out. 

The kids complied and went back to their table, dragging Qintaro with them. Jiiro and Reina stood rooted on their respective spots, silent. Qintaro could feel 2 pairs of Prussian blue eyes boring through him as he approached Jiiro first. 

As their eyes locked, understanding instantly passed between them. All the apologies, all the regrets, they all quickly disappeared. Everything was forgotten and forgiven. It was how bestfriends were. "So you're alive. Good to see you again, Qin." 

"Same here. I've been an ass, haven't I?" 

Jiiro gave him a small smile. "You sure did." 

Qintaro smiled back then turned to regard Reina. She and Jiiro might be twins, but dealing with Reina would be a lot harder. Taking a deep breath, he said, "Reina, I'm so sorry. Remember when I told you before that I would make it up to you somehow? I intend to keep that promise. Just tell me how."

Everyone watched with bated breath as they waited for Reina's response. Finally, Reina asked, "Do you remember what reply I gave you when you told me that?" 

"That we'll talk about it when I come back." 

"So we'll talk about it after you're done eating," Reina added with a smile as she handed him a plate. "And when they're not listening." 

"Goodluck," Everyone told him. Then they all laughed. 

"Come on, kiddo. Let's get some food. I'm starving," Athena called out. Qintaro turned to look at her and saw that she was standing next to Relena. As he walked over to them, he saw Relena smile, opening her arms to him. Smiling back, Qintaro accepted her gesture, hugging her warmly. 

"I'm glad you're alright, Qintaro." 

"I'm glad that you're fine too, Miss Relena. And I want to apologize for my behavior before." 

Relena pulled back and waved a hand. "That's over and done with. Don't worry about it. Oh, and drop the 'Miss'. Just call me Relena, Aunt or if you want, Mom," she said, giving Reina a grin. 

Reina turned beet red. "Kaasan!" Everyone laughed again. 

Also blushing, Qintaro murmured, "Umm, Aunt will be fine. Thanks." 

"Now that everything's settled, I say we go get some food," Athena suggested as she and Qintaro went straight to the buffet table.

  
  
**A while later… **  
  


"So that's what happened," Hilde commented after Athena and Qintaro told them their story. 

"You really are one lucky kid," Midii stated. 

"Yeah. I'm really lucky that Athena was there to save me," Qintaro replied, smiling at Athena. "And she's kind enough to ask me to stay with her." 

Catherine turned inquisitively at Lady Une. "I don't mean to rain on anyone's parade, but is that ok? I mean aren't you the one who is supposed to decide who'll be the kids' legal guardians?" 

"Speaking of which, when can we know your decision, Lady Une?" Quatre asked. 

"You know that all of us are willing to take Miles, Ren, Sean, Dean, Colin and Qintaro as one group," Zechs reminded. 

"And if not as a group, we can take them in separately," Wufei added. 

"Hn. Dean can stay with us, Miles can stay with Zechs and Noin, Ren with Quatre and Dorothy, Sean with Duo and Hilde, Dean with Wufei and Sally, and Qintaro with Heero and Relena," Trowa said. Trion smiled at his father gratefully. 

"Wait a sec. If we're going to do it that way, I need to swap with Heero," Duo voiced out. He then looked at Sean. "Don't get me wrong, kid. I really like you. And you piloted Deathscythe well too. But teenaged boys are every father's worst nightmare. Let's just say that I don't want to be a granddaddy yet." 

Both Sean and Deity reddened. "Dad!" 

"Hey, Angel. I'm just being cautious." Heero looked at Qintaro, then at Reina, then at Qintaro again. Qintaro gulped as Heero leveled him with his stare. "We have a deal, Duo." 

"Tousan! Not you too!" Reina whined. 

"Hold your horses, folks," Lady Une intervened, smiling at the recent turn of events. "To answer your question, Quatre, I already made my decision. After careful deliberation, I thought it best for the kids to stay together as one family. I know you all meant well but you're all already busy with the current happenings in your life and to add raising 6 more kids will be very difficult. But I couldn't just let other people look after them. They need someone who understands what they've been through and help them deal with it. That's why I chose Athena to be their legal guardian." 

As everyone looked at Athena they completely understood why Lady Une chose her. Those kids needed someone who experienced the same thing, and though living with the Peacecrafts, the Yuys, the Maxwells, the Bartons, the Changs and the Winners would be perfect, the only way it would work was to separate the 6 kids, which she didn't want to do. Athena could also provide the guidance they needed and those six wouldn't have to get separated. "Hey kids, hope you don't mind being stuck with me," Athena told them. 

Miles, Ren, Colin, Dean and Sean smiled. So that was why Athena had been talking to them these past few days. And the funny thing was, it felt like they had known each other forever. Even from the first time they talked to her, they genuinely liked her. "We're the ones who should be saying that," Miles told her. 

"Yeah. Raising six teenaged boys? We could be a handful sometimes," Ren added. 

"Nah. I think it'll be a blast," Athena assured them. 

"I'm sure it will," Qintaro remarked., knowing that a bright future awaited them. And it all started here, today.

  
  
Nope, it's not goodbye yet. One last chapter to go... 


	10. Epilogue: A Family's Legacy

Gundam Legacy Epilogue   
  
**Disclaimer: ** Sorry. Still not mine.   
  
This is it, the final chapter. Woohoo! For comments, suggestions, flames or reviews, you can email me at raizenheero@aol.com  
  
  


**Gundam Legacy**   
by Neesah 

  
  


**Epilogue: A Family's Legacy **

  
  
  
**December AC 240 **  
  


Athena looked back as she heard the glass tube opening and saw Heero, Duo, Trowa, Quatre, Wufei and Zechs emerging from it. She couldn't help smiling when she heard Duo complain, "I'm really getting old for that long glider ride." 

"If you think you're old, then I'm older. Four years older to be exact," Zechs told him. 

"I don't think 60 or 64 yr olds should still be doing that kind of exercise," Quatre commented as he rubbed his arms. 

"Well, we wouldn't be doing that anymore. This is the last time we'll have the chance to do that so I suggest you savor the experience," Wufei pointed out. 

Trowa surveyed the whole room. "I'm going to miss coming here." 

"Hn. All of us will," Heero stated as he went to Athena's side by the main computer terminal. 

"Are you done with all the changes?" Athena asked. 

"Yes. We've uploaded the new DNA prints and deleted ours," Heero replied. 

"We also finished checking if everything in the storages is in proper order," Zechs said. 

"We did our final goodbyes too," Quatre added. "This is the last time we'll be seeing them, the last time we'll be able to set foot in this base." 

"What about you, Athena? Are you finished with everything here?" Trowa asked. 

"Yup. I already changed the DNA print in HAVOC's storage and I just finished uploading the files you gave me before I dropped you off to your respective storages. All the necessary files --- instructions, data on the former pilots, the Gundams, the experiments and the past wars --- everything that they might need in the future are all complete. I'm just waiting for you coz maybe you want to review the files or add something before I encrypt everything." 

The guys flocked the terminal, reading the files and adding some things in them. When everything was to their liking, Wufei said, "You can encrypt them now, Athena. And encrypt them good. If the fate of the whole ESUN would lie on them then they should be able to open one lousy file easily." 

"Hn." After a few minutes, everything was in its proper order. They finished all that they came there for. 

"So this is goodbye, huh?" Duo whispered. 

"Yeah. Goodbye forever," Athena replied. 

"It's sad that we're leaving all of this behind. But I'm also glad that this part of our lives is over," Trowa commented. 

"I know what you mean. It's nice that this is all over for us. But for them, it's just beginning," Zechs stated. 

"Do you think we're doing the right thing? Isn't it unfair for them to have us place that great burden on them without their consent?" Quatre inquired. 

"I don't say that it's fair but there's no other alternative. Besides, it's just a precaution," Wufei told him. 

"We always say that we don't have any alternative but is it true? Do we really have no other choice? Sometimes, I can't help but think that we're just saying that as an excuse to justify our actions," Duo stated. 

Everyone remained silent. After a while, Zechs said, "Maybe it's wrong for us to say that we had no other choice. We have other choices but obviously, one of them is the best one and we are always inclined to choose that one. It is foolhardy to opt for another. And I know that that's what we mean whenever we say that we have no other choice." 

"I agree," Heero replied. "We might not like dragging our whole bloodline into this but what else can we do to secure peace? There would be other insurgents, we know that. It's a fact of life. It's part of human nature. And the Gundams will always have the power to influence the tide of war. Who else could we trust to ensure that the Gundams will be there to restore order and not cause chaos than our own flesh and blood?" 

"Peace. And protecting peace. That's our legacy to them," Trowa said. 

"Not to mention everything that it entails -- death, blood, guilt. Funny, we couldn't really run away from it. And not only will it follow us to our graves, it'll even haunt our whole bloodline," Wufei stated. 

"It's funny alright. Downright hilarious," Duo muttered drily. 

The 7 of them remained silent for a while, immersed in their own thoughts as they surveyed the room that became like a second home to them for more or less 40 years. 

Athena then looked at her watch. "It's getting late. We better go." 

The other 6 nodded and with one last look at the place, they went inside the glass tube that would take them out their forever, and to their shuttle above.

  
  
**2 weeks later… **  
  


The traditional Christmas Eve dinner at the Peacecraft Palace was splendid. After dinner, all the kids went to either the combat room or the simulation room to burn out what they just ate while the adults went to the den, wanting to exchange Christmas presents. Three hours later, the kids trouped inside the den and said their goodnights. They wanted to sleep early so they could open their presents early tomorrow morning. Lady Une, Carrie and Dean, Marimeia and Toby, their daughter Trina and her husband, Paul, Catherine and Ardy, Miles and Eevie, Ren and Arianne, Colin and Krisha followed their kids' example and also said their own goodnights. They were all heading out to go upstairs when Quatre suddenly called out, "Kahlil, Minmei, Dejan, Zeubin, Ilani, Lander, Qianna, can you stay for a moment?" 

4 teenaged boys and 3 teenaged girls stopped on their tracks and looked back while everybody else continued on their way to their rooms. "Sure, Gramps," 17-yr old Kahlil Winner replied. 

"So, umm, what's up?" Reina and Qintaro's 16 yr-old daughter, Qianna, asked as she looked at the serious faces of everyone there. Their parents, not to mention Athena, Heero and Relena, Zechs and Noin, Duo and Hilde, Trowa and Midii, Quatre and Dorothy, Wufei and Sally were all looking at them solemnly. 

"Nothing's up, really. We just want to give you kids something," Athena answered. 

"I thought we're supposed to get our presents tomorrow," 18 yr-old Lander Peacecraft commented. 

"You are. But aside from the ones you'll get tomorrow, we still want to give you these," Zechs explained, showing them a velvet box. 

"Yay! More presents!" Minmei Chang exclaimed. 

"Go to your Grandpa Wufei, Minmei," Lee told his 15-yr old daughter. 

Deity regarded her 16-yr old son. "That goes for you too, Dejan. Go to Grandpa Duo." 

"I think you all got the picture. You know what to do, Ilani," Trion said, looking at his 14-yr old daughter. 

Ilani nodded and went to where Trowa and Midii were sitting. Kahlil went to Quatre, Lander to Zechs and Jiiro's 15-yr old son, Zeubin to Heero. 

Seeing that her cousin stood before Heero, Qianna walked over to Athena. "I assume I should be with you, right?" 

Athena smiled. "Right. You really are a bright girl, Qianna. Just like your Mom." She then handed her the velvet box. The others did the same. 

Reina and Qintaro, Deity and Sean, Jiiro and Alyssa, Trion and Maya, Lee and Irene, Kai and Sharon, Rhys and Lindsay watched as their respective firstborns opened the box, though Alyssa, Maya, Irene, Sharon and Lindsay didn't have any idea what those gifts really were. 

Dejan and the others took out the rings and placed them in their fingers. "This is so pretty, thanks," Ilani said as he hugged Trowa, then Midii. 

"Yeah. Thanks so much, Gramps," Dejan said. "But aren't these the same rings Mom, Uncle Jiiro, Aunt Reina, Uncle Rhys, Uncle Kai, Uncle Lee and Uncle Trion have?" Deity nodded and showed them her ring. Reina, Jiiro Rhys, Kai, Lee and Trion also held up their hands. "Cool. And you have one too right?" Dejan added as he looked at Duo's fingers. His brows shot up quizzically when he saw that his ring was gone. "Where's yours, Gramps?" 

"You're wearing it, kiddo." 

"Huh?" All the kids looked at their respective hands then at the hands of their Grandfathers (in Qianna's case, her Grandmother). 

"Oh. It's like you're passing it on to us now. Sort of like a family heirloom," Zeubin remarked. 

"Something like that," Reina said. "But so much more." 

"Those rings will lead you to the legacy we'll be leaving behind. Take care of them," Heero told them. 

The 7 kids looked at each other. They had been told all about their grandparents' and their parents' history so they knew that what Heero was saying meant only one thing. "We will," Kahlil promised. "But how can…" 

"When the right time comes, you'll know how. Just like we did," Kai assured them. "Besides, we'll still be here." 

"We'll guide you, tell you everything you need to know. Then it'll be your turn to tell it to your kids, and our turn to pass on our rings," Jiiro added. 

Ilani, Dejan, Qianna, Lander, Minmei, Zeubin and Kahlil looked at their rings, watching the light bouncing off the shiny square black surface as their brains processed everything that they learned that night. So, aside from their 'obvious' responsibilities to the ESUN because of their names, they also had the responsibility of being peace's last resort. And not just them, but their children, their children's children, and their children after that. It would be their family's legacy to the ESUN, the legacy of peace and keeping peace. 

7 pairs of determined eyes looked at the older pilots, then at their parents, then at the older pilots again. "We understand. Mission Accepted," Zeubin told them. 

Heero tousled his grandson's hair. "Time for bed, kids." 

The 7 teenagers nodded and with a chorus of 'thanks' and 'goodnights', they walked towards the door. 

The adults watched the kids disappear from view with sadness and pride. It was a great responsibility, but they knew that they would do well. Peace would never be in better hands.

  
  


~THE END~  
  
  



End file.
